Antitrust Analysis Involving Intellectual Property and Standards: Implications from Economics

64 Pages Posted: 12 Feb 2018 Last revised: 17 Mar 2020

See all articles by Jorge Padilla

Jorge Padilla

Compass Lexecon

Douglas H. Ginsburg

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School

Koren W. Wong-Ervin

Jones Day; George Washington University

Date Written: January 10, 2019

Abstract

There is a significant industrial organization (IO) economics literature on the economics of innovation and intellectual property (IP) protection. As some courts and antitrust agencies have recognized, the IO economics toolkit for business arrangements (e.g., vertical restraints, tying and bundling, etc.) involving IP rights is sufficiently flexible to be applied in high-technology areas involving antitrust and IP. In this Article, the authors explain the economics of innovation and IP protection, licensing, and compulsory licensing, with specific applications to standards development and to standard-essential patents. The authors then propose first-best approaches based on the implications of the economics that courts and agencies can apply at each stage of an antitrust inquiry, from market definition and market power to the assessment of particular business practices. The authors conclude by providing a summary of the approach applied in each major antitrust jurisdiction—China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, and the United States.

Keywords: economics of innovation, antitrust, intellectual property, standard-essential patents, SEPs, FRAND, compulsory licensing

JEL Classification: K21, L4, L5

Suggested Citation

Padilla, Jorge and Ginsburg, Douglas H. and Wong-Ervin, Koren, Antitrust Analysis Involving Intellectual Property and Standards: Implications from Economics (January 10, 2019). Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, Fall 2019 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3119034 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3119034

Jorge Padilla

Compass Lexecon ( email )

Paseo de la Castellana 7
Madrid, 28046
Spain

Douglas H. Ginsburg

U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ( email )

333 Constitution Ave NW
Room 5523
Washington, DC 20001
United States

George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School ( email )

3301 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

Koren Wong-Ervin (Contact Author)

Jones Day ( email )

51 Louisiana Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20001
United States
2028793622 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.jonesday.com/en

George Washington University ( email )

2121 I Street NW
Washington, DC 20052
United States

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