An Unconventional View of Intellectual Property and Antitrust Policy — A Fireside Chat with Prof. Jonathan Barnett

Patent law and antitrust law have often had an uneasy coexistence.  Patents are sometimes derided as legalized monopolies — hindrances to competition that must be tolerated for the sake of innovation.  Prof. Barnett seeks to challenge those old assumptions.  During this fireside chat, we will discuss his recent piece in Competition Policy International which argues that patents are fundamentally pro-competitive and facilitate greater access to new innovations.  We will talk about whether his model practically applies across different sectors and discuss questions that antitrust enforcers might consider as they weigh IP policy in the new Administration.