[DMCA-Activists] Pubpat: SCOTUS Briefs on Patent Holders Stopping Competition

[Seth Johnson]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: PUBPAT News: PUBPAT FILES BRIEFS WITH SUPREME COURT IN
CASES INVOLVINGTHE EXTENT TO WHICH PATENT HOLDERS ARE ALLOWED TO
ELIMINATE COMPETITION
Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2005 11:21:05 -0400
From: Public Patent Foundation <address@hidden>
To: PUBPAT News List <address@hidden>

PUBPAT FILES BRIEFS WITH SUPREME COURT IN CASES INVOLVING THE
EXTENT TO WHICH PATENT HOLDERS ARE ALLOWED TO ELIMINATE
COMPETITION

NEW YORK -- September 30, 2005 -- The Public Patent Foundation 
("PUBPAT") filed briefs with the United States Supreme Court this
week  in two separate cases involving the use of patents to
destroy  competition.  The first brief, filed Wednesday with
coauthors AARP and  Consumer's Union, involves the leveraging of
a patent through tying  arrangements to retrain competition in
markets for goods not covered by  the patent.  The second brief,
filed today in support of the Federal  Trade Commission,
addresses the collusive settlement of a patent  infringement
lawsuit whereby a potential competitor agrees not to enter  the
market in exchange for a payment from the patent holder.

“In two separate cases this term, the Supreme Court is being
asked  whether having a patent means you have free reign to
destroy competition  any way you see fit," said PUBPAT Executive
Director, Dan Ravicher.  "In  one case you have a patent holder
forcing people to buy something they  don't want or need and in
the other you have two pharmaceutical  companies conspiring to
share the profits from only one of them selling  a drug instead
of having to compete with one another.  Such  anti-competitive
behavior disregards the fundamental American principle  of a fair
marketplace where consumers benefit from greater choice and 
lower prices."

The joint AARP, PUBPAT and Consumer's Union brief, filed in the
case  Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc.,
identified for the  Court the growing trend in the pharmaceutical
industry of so-called  “combination” pills that combine a patent
protected drug with another  drug not covered by a patent that
would otherwise be subject to full  competition.  By selling a
patented drug only as part of a combination  pill, pharmaceutical
companies force patients to purchase their version  of the
unpatented drug, regardless of whether it is the safest or most 
effective version that is available to them. Today's brief, filed
in  Federal Trade Commission v. Schering-Plough Corp.,
highlighted for the  court the fact that no patent gives its
owner the right to exclude from  the marketplace all products. 
As such, the lower court's assumption  that a patent owner will
be successful in asserting its patent against  any given product
was wrong and will, if left uncorrected, be harmful to  America's
competition-based economy.

More information about PUBPAT's briefs to the United States
Supreme  Court, including complete copies of the briefs, can be
found at  http://www.pubpat.org/Educating_and_Advocating.htm.

Contact:

Jill Ratkevic, Bite Communications: (415) 365-0482; 
address@hidden

About PUBPAT:

The Public Patent Foundation ("PUBPAT") is a not-for-profit
legal  services organization working to protect the public from
the harms  caused by the patent system, particularly the harms
caused by wrongly  issued patents and unsound patent policy. 
PUBPAT provides the general  public and those specific persons or
businesses otherwise deprived of  access to the system governing
patents, with representation, advocacy,  and education.  To be
kept informed of PUBPAT News, subscribe to the  PUBPAT News List
by sending an email with "subscribe" in the subject  line to
address@hidden  To be removed from the PUBPAT News 
List, send an email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line to 
address@hidden

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