On July 9, President Biden signed the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, which is perhaps the most sweeping executive order in several decades, and will drastically expand the power of the federal government. The E.O. contains 72 specific actions that will impact not only tech companies, but also financial institutions, internet service providers, pharmaceutical companies, railways, airlines, biopharmaceutical innovators, drug prices, patent owners, and much more.

Our panel of antitrust experts discuss the underlying justifications for the order, the possible effects, and the implications for consumers, businesses, and regulatory agencies.

Although the compatibility of intellectual property (IP) and antitrust has been widely recognized by Congress and the Supreme Court, recent discussions of monopolies in digital markets often presents IP rights and antitrust laws as conceptually incompatible concepts. The nexus between property rights and competition is complex, but ultimately IP and antitrust share common goals of increasing market output, value, and competition. Guided by the consumer welfare standard, modern antitrust law rejects the notion that mere possession of a patent or copyright constitutes possession of anticompetitive market power and makes clear that applying for or enforcing these rights does not establish exclusionary conduct. And while patents and other forms of IP are frequently described as incentives to innovate, their disruptive, anti-monopoly effects are often overlooked. Our panel of experts discuss the nexus between patents, copyright, and competition as well as recent developments at the interface of IP and antitrust law.