FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1995                            (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

   DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ISSUE JOINT
   ANTITRUST GUIDELINES FOR THE LICENSING OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Recognizing the increasingly important 
role of intellectual property in U.S. economic growth and 
competitiveness, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) today jointly issued Antitrust Guidelines for the 
Licensing of Intellectual Property. They will provide guidance on 
antitrust issues in the licensing of intellectual property as 
protected by  patent, copyright and trade secret laws.  In addition, 
they address the licensing of know-how.
     The guidelines supersede the Department's draft guidelines that 
were published in the Federal Register for public comment on August 
11, 1994.  Following a 60-day public comment period, a task force 
of Department and FTC attorneys and economists reviewed the comments 
and made appropriate revisions.      
     The final guidelines clarify the agencies' approach to market 
definition for technology and innovation markets.  They provide 
additional examples illustrating the application of the guidelines. 
They explicitly recognize that the principles in these guidelines 
apply equally to international and domestic intellectual property 
licensing agreements.   

     The guidelines also reaffirm the basic principles contained 
in both the Department's August draft guidelines and the relevant 
sections of the Department's 1988 Antitrust Enforcement Guidelines
for International Operations that they replace.  Among these 
principles: þ the same antitrust principles apply to intellectual 
property as apply to other forms of property, with appropriate 
recognition of the distinguishing characteristics of intellectual 
property;

     þ antitrust enforcement should not unnecessarily interfere 
     with the licensing of intellectual property rights; and

     þ the existence of an intellectual property right does not, 
     by itself, give rise to a presumption of market power.

     The guidelines were announced today during a speech by Deputy 
Assistant Attorney General Richard J. Gilbert before the American 
Bar Association's Antitrust meeting in Washington.  
     "These guidelines reaffirm our commitment to provide guidance 
to the business community and help reduce uncertainty in this vital 
area of our economy," said Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney 
General in charge of the Department's Antitrust Division. "They 
accomplish this in a clear and forward-looking way."
     "We are also extremely pleased that these guidelines represent 
the fifth set of guidelines that the Department and the FTC have 
issued jointly over the past three years," Bingaman added.
     Other joint guidelines include the 1992 DOJ-FTC Horizontal 
Merger Guidelines, 1993 and 1994 DOJ-FTC Policy Statements for the 
Health Care Industry, and 1995 DOJ-FTC Antitrust Enforcement 
Guidelines for International Operations.
     "The intellectual property guidelines will ensure," Bingaman 
concluded, "that sound antitrust enforcement continues to encourage 
technological innovation and promote U.S. competition here and
abroad.  It does so by preventing arrangements that inhibit 
innovation or restrain competition without promoting the 
development of intellectual property."  
     Copies of Deputy Assistant Attorney General Gilbert's speech 
and the 1995 Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property 
are available to members of the media in the Justice Department's
Public Affairs Office.  Others can obtain copies from the Legal 
Procedure Unit of the Antitrust Division, Room 3235, Department 
of Justice, Washington, DC 20530 (telephone: 202-514-2481). 
The guidelines are also available at the FTC's press office.

                                 ###

95-195