Antitrust & Competition Policy Blog

Fed Circuit on Patents and Market Power

In a decision handed down yesterday, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed a grant of summary judgment  for the defendant in a tying case because the district court failed to properly assess market power in light of the defendant's patents.  The Federal Circuit stated: "We hold that a rebuttable presumption of market power arises from the possession of a patent over a tying product."  The case is Independent Ink v. Illinois Tool Works.    More information can be found at Dennis Crouch's patent blog. 

SUN Poised to Release Solaris, Open Source Code

Here are a series of links to the story:

Technology News Story

C|Net News.com

The Register

ServerWatch

DoJ Brings Antitrust Scrutiny to Gannett and New York Times

Today's Wall Street Journal reports that the DoJ is stepping up investigation of Gannett and the New York Times with special scrutiny of Gannett's proposed buyout of HomeTown Communications Network, Inc. and The New York Times' taking a 49 % share in Metro Boston.  Follow this link for a Newsday report online.