FTC Competition Advocacy: The Case for Patent Reform

Posted by D. Daniel Sokol

Competition advocacy is one of the most important tasks that an antitrust agency can perform.  In this role, an antitrust agency attempts to mitigate the anti-competitive effect of policy by other parts of government whether by other agencies or via the legislation process.

In its competition advocacy role, the FTC has been involved in patent reform and competition effects of the US patent system.  Today, Suzanne Michel, the Deputy Assistant Director for Policy in the Bureau of Competition of the FTC, provided testimony at House Judiciary Committee's hearing "Innovation at Risk: The Case for Patent Reform."  Her testimony summarizes the findings and recommendations of the 2003 FTC report, To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy.