Reverse Payment Settlements
Strafford Publications is hosting a teleconference on March 8, 2007 titled, "Reverse Payment Settlements - Restraint of Trade or Legitimate Contract? Unraveling the FTC, DOJ and Federal Court Conflict"
Reverse payments refer to a patent owner's agreement to pay an infringer to settle patent litigation – but there is no clear standard of review for analyzing the legality of utilizing reverse payment agreements.
The FTC's position is that such payments violate the Sherman Act, but the Eleventh Circuit ruled in Schering-Plough v. FTC that it is within patent owners' rights to utilize such agreements.
In an unprecedented move, the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice opposed the FTC's certiorari petition in Schering-Plough, and the Supreme Court declined to review. Congress is currently considering a measure to make such settlements per se illegal.
The conflicting positions presented by the FTC and the DOJ, as well as the courts, have left companies and their counsel without clear guidance.
The panel includes:
Michael A. O'Shea, Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Washington, D.C. He focuses on patent licensing and litigation in virtually every technology and in jurisdictions nationwide, including numerous district courts, the International Trade Commission and the Federal Circuit.
Frank Grassler, Vice President Intellectual Property/Biotechnology, Glaxo SmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC.
The panel will address these and other key questions:
- How have the courts and agencies applied antitrust law to patent disputes?
- What are the lessons for patent owners from the differing FTC, DOJ and federal court approaches to reverse payment settlements?
- What are the best practices for patent owners and alleged infringers in negotiating settlements of claims in the current legal environment?
More information and registration details are available here.
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