Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Figures
- Boxes
- Contributors
- Preface
- Editorial Note
- 1 Introduction: Towards a Fresh Contribution to a Critical Policy Dialogue
- Part I Setting the Scene: Evolution of Key Principles and International Dialogue
- Part II Sharpening the Focus: Sectoral Perspectives
- Part III Deepening the Dialogue: Comparative and Jurisdictional Analyses
- Part IV Drawing the Lessons: Towards International Policy Coherence
- Index
22 - Enforcement of Competition Law in Relation to Intellectual Property in the European Union
from Part III - Deepening the Dialogue: Comparative and Jurisdictional Analyses
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 June 2021
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Tables
- Figures
- Boxes
- Contributors
- Preface
- Editorial Note
- 1 Introduction: Towards a Fresh Contribution to a Critical Policy Dialogue
- Part I Setting the Scene: Evolution of Key Principles and International Dialogue
- Part II Sharpening the Focus: Sectoral Perspectives
- Part III Deepening the Dialogue: Comparative and Jurisdictional Analyses
- Part IV Drawing the Lessons: Towards International Policy Coherence
- Index
Summary
Competition law protects competition on the market and intellectual property laws confer exclusive rights on holders of patents, copyright, design rights, trademarks and other legally protected rights, in particular to encourage innovation. It is easy to see why these two bodies of law were seen as conflicting with each other. It is, however, generally acknowledged nowadays that there is no inherent conflict between them. They both share the same basic objective of promoting consumer welfare and an efficient allocation of resources. They also both promote a dynamic economy.1 Having said this, it is also widely admitted that some business behaviours, when associated with intellectual property, could be contrary to the objectives of competition law. This is why most competition regimes in the world, while having a positive approach towards intellectual property, provide for a prohibition of abuses of these rights. This is the case of the European Union (EU) case law, which establishes a distinction between the existence and the exercise of an intellectual property right (IPR).
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- Information
- Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021