Antitrust policy for the licensing of intellectual property: an international comparison

This paper provides an economic comparison of two competition policy statem ents dealing with the use and licensing of intellectual property. These are the Antitrust Guidelines for the licensing of Intellectual Property, publi shed by the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission on 5 April 1995. and The Technology Transfer Block Exemption, issued by the Co mmission of the European Communities on 31 January 1996. Although the two p ublications deal with similar issues, they differ significantly in content. Their similarities become more apparent when they are considered from the perspective of the different legal environments of the United States and th e European Union.