[A2k] FTC public hearing (webcast now) and RFC re IP

[Manon Ress]

thanks to GW for pointer:

http://www.ftc.gov/bc/workshops/ipmarketplace/

The Federal Trade Commission is conducting a series of public hearings
to explore changes in intellectual property law, patent-related
business models, and new learning regarding the operation of the IP
marketplace since the FTC issued its October 2003 report, To Promote
Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and
Policy A Report by the Federal Trade Commission (October 2003) [PDF].
The next set of hearings, to be held March 18-19, 2009 in Washington,
DC, will examine the operation of markets for IP and technology and
the impact of patent policies on those markets. The March 18 hearing
will explore how organizations and inventors from different industries
use patents by enforcing exclusivity or licensing, and discuss the
effect of recent judicial decisions, uncertainty in the patent system,
and the notice function of patents on their decision-making. The
hearing on March 19 will consider economic perspectives on IP and
technology markets, and the extent to which the patent system
adequately fulfills its notice function (including how various patent
law doctrines or procedural aspects of the system affect notice).

The first hearing, held on December 5, 2008, examined broad aspects of
the evolving IP marketplace, including developing business models,
recent and proposed changes in remedies law, and legal doctrines that
affect the value and licensing of patents. A second set of hearings
were held on February 11-12, 2009, focusing on remedies in patent
infringement cases. The Commission will hold additional hearings on
April 17, 2009 in Washington, D.C. and on May 4-5, 2009 in Berkeley,
California in conjunction with the Berkeley Center for Law and
Technology. Information about these future hearings will be posted on
this website shortly.

The Commission seeks the views of the legal, academic, and business
communities on the issues to be explored at the hearings. In its
Federal Register Notice the agency set out a list of specific
questions on which it is particularly seeking comments. The agency
will consider any comments received by May 15, 2009.


***************************************************************************
Manon Ress
manon.ress@keionline.org
Knowledge Ecology International
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA
Tel.:  +1.202.332.2670, Fax: +1.202.332.2673