The FTC, which enforces the US's antitrust and competition laws
as well as consumer protection laws, will hold the first in a
series of public hearings on intellectual property and patent
policy in December.
It said that it was essential to debate the issues because the
legal landscape has changed since it last reported on patent law
and other IP laws in 2003.
"The courts and patentees are exploring the full implications of
Supreme Court and Federal Circuit decisions on injunctive relief,
patentability, and licensing issues," said an FTC statement.
"Congress has considered sweeping legislative patent reform, and
new debates on the appropriate methods for calculating infringement
damages have engaged the patent community."
"New business models for buying, selling and licensing patents
have emerged and evolved since 2003," it said. "In addition, there
is new learning regarding the operation of the patent system and
its contribution to innovation and competition."
In 2002 and 2003 the FTC held a series of hearings and panel
discussions which resulted in the publication of a 200-page report
which has determined its IP policy and rulings since then. It said
that it was time for that material to be reviewed because so much
had changed.
"The cumulative impact of these changes and proposed changes are
poorly understood," it said. "They contain the potential to
significantly influence a patent’s economic value and the operation
of the IP marketplace. The Commission’s hearings will consider the
effect of these changes on innovation, competition, and consumer
welfare."
The first event will have three topics of discussion. One panel
will talk about new kinds of business models using patents and the
existing industry's response to them.
A second panel will discuss changes to remedies law and what
impact changing penalties have both on industry's ability to
innovate and on the consumers who will eventually pay for and use
products.
A third panel will discuss the changes in patent law that have
come about through court rulings and the impact on the value of
patents and patent licences. It will examine the effect of Supreme
Court rulings on what counts as obvious in a patent application,
the exhaustion of patents and changes to the scope and enforcement
of patents.
The Supreme Court ruled just last month on which business
methods can and which cannot be patented. It rejected a lower
court's test for patentability and said that only a test developed
by the Supreme Court could be used.
