Sheridan Scott, the Commissioner of Competition, has recently stated that, together with Industry Canada and the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, the Competition Bureau has commissioned a review paper of several major issues arising at the interface between competition law and intellectual property law. This project will include a top level symposium early in 2007.
The issues identified by the Commissioner at this time will clearly be viewed as significant in a variety of industries that heavily invest in innovation. The issues under review include:
- Authorized generic drugs – the extent to which brand-name pharmaceutical companies have launched authorized generics, and the impact this may have had on the entry of other generics.
- Collective management of copyright –does the current system of copyright collectives minimize transaction costs and encourage new works?
- Official marks – the impact of the current system on competition, and whether competition principles can improve the system.
- IP rights extension – the ways in which firms have attempted to extend their IP rights.
- Compulsory licensing – do the current statutory provisions meet their legislative intent? What alternatives are available?
- Tying – when can bundling practices extend IP protection and block innovation?
- International context – a comparison of Canada’s patent regime with its international obligations, and consideration of whether the current regime could be improved.
Innovation is obviously a very important part of the economy. IP rights and competition principles can in some cases conflict, or be difficult to reconcile. The Commissioner’s interest in developing a better understanding of these issues can only be viewed as positive. However, there is much room for debate on most if not all of the above issues and interested parties – particularly innovation-based businesses – will want to follow this closely.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.