Symposium on IP and Competition Policy

The WIPO Secretariat is organizing, on June 14, 2011, the third in a series of symposia scrutinizing current developments in the interface between intellectual property (IP) and competition policy. The Symposium will start at 14:00 at WIPO headquarters (Bilger Room).

Discussion will center round the study “IP as a Barrier to Entry: A Survey of Economic and Legal Literature”. The study was prepared by a team of academics and researchers from the Center on Law and Information Policy (CLIP), of the Fordham University, New York.

Professor Joel R. Reidenberg, the Stanley D. & Nikki Waxberg Chair and Founding Director of CLIP, and Jamela Debelak, Executive Director of CLIP, will present the study’s findings and main recommendations. Mr. Giovanni Napolitano, Consultant with the IP and Competition Policy Division, WIPO, will be the discussant. The floor will be open to questions and comments.

The Symposium is open to diplomats, officials of intergovernmental organizations and representatives of non-governmental organizations accredited with WIPO. Those interested in attending are requested to complete the on-line registration form.

This is the first of two symposia foreseen for 2011 that will present two of the studies produced in the context of the implementation of the WIPO Project on intellectual property and Competition Policy (which was approved by the Committee on Development and intellectual property (CDIP) in November 2009).

The first two symposia took place in 2010 and were aimed at sharing experiences and different perspectives in this area. Participants included representative of multilateral organizations, national and regional competition authorities and a number of private companies that have acquired practical experience in antitrust enforcement initiatives with an impact on the protection and effective use of IP.