Bribery or Business?
The Second Circuit is deciding whether or not the practice of “reverse payments” — settlement in patent infringement cases where the patent holder pays the alleged infringer to stay off the market — are subject to antitrust scrutiny.
Interesting concept, but my gut feeling is that the practice is anticompetitive. It’s remarkably similar to what the big tech companies did back during the dot-com boom: buy out their competitors to keep them from competing in the market. I know the issue here deals with alleged patent infringement, but the methods are almost identical.
As the article notes, the Federal Trade Commission seems to have the same opinion that I do.
[From Can Patent Holders Buy Off Infringers? Courts Take Another Look - News - ABA Journal]
