Exclusion Versus Control: The Competition Dimensions of Intellectual Property Rights

Résumé :

In an ideal world, competition law and intellectual property rights (IPRs) operate symbiotically—promoting a competitive atmosphere in the market for goods, services, and ideas, while at the same time protecting the exclusive rights that stimulate intellectual and entrepreneurial investment. The current economic and legal atmosphere, however, has resulted in serious tensions, if not outright clashes, between the goals of competition law and IPRs, underscoring the distinct modi operandi of these contrasting regimes. From a Canadian perspective, this article explores the legal and policy-related problems that arise when IPRs are exercised in abusive or anti-competitive ways. It concludes that a fair and efficient IPR system, though based on an exclusionary model, must not give rights-holders free reign to control products, processes, or markets through the manipulation of IPRs.