Answer ... Yes, there are limits on patent protection due to antitrust laws. The Federal Supreme Court has held that a rights holder that has a dominant position in a market can be liable for an antitrust violation if it enforces its patent in a manner abusive to the concept of antitrust law, such as by preventing otherwise legal parallel importation of the patented product or products made by a patented process, subject to certain conditions. Rights holders that dominate the market may be obligated to grant compulsory licences if the use of the patented technology is indispensable to a third party that wishes to offer the patented product and the rights holder does not have legitimate grounds to refuse the grant of a licence. The Federal Act on Patents for Inventions specifically provides for compulsory licences in the case of antitrust violations.