Please be advised: This event will be premiering at 9:00 a.m. EDT, Friday, May 29. You may view this event on Hudson’s website at or after its premiere time on this event page.
Join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice Bernard A. Nigro, Jr., on the recent developments in the field of antitrust law and patents. Mr. Nigro previously served as deputy director for the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition from 2003 to 2005. Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Urška Petrovčič will moderate the conversation.
Despite numerous court decisions and regulatory actions, many issues at the intersection of patents and antitrust law remain unsolved. There is ongoing controversy surrounding standard-essential patents (SEP), which are patents necessary to implement industry standards such as 4G and 5G standards in the telecommunications industry.
Does a SEP holder have an antitrust obligation to offer a license to third parties? Can an agreement among members of a patent pool that licenses SEPs trigger liability under U.S. antitrust law? Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nigro will consider these and other questions as he describes the ongoing challenges in balancing between antitrust enforcement and the protection of patent rights.
