This unique book provides a comprehensive account of the patent misuse doctrine and its relationship with antitrust law. Created to remedy and discourage misconduct by patent owners a century ago, its proper role today is debated more than ever before. Innovation and competition take place in increasingly complex environments that demand a clear understanding of where illegality ends and legitimate corporate strategy begins.

The book is an essential resource for the curious, the expert and all those engaged in deciding what patent misuse means and should mean today. In addition to in-depth doctrinal and policy perspectives, it looks at patent misuse through the eyes of today’s leading practitioners, judges, government officials and academics. It also presents a qualitative analysis of modern misuse case law spanning 1953 to 2012. The result is a compelling account that lays out an important doctrinal, policy and empirical framework for future cases and scholarship.

Patent law students and scholars will find the author’s comprehensive study of popular and actual perceptions of the misuse doctrine a valuable resource, while practitioners, government officials and judges will appreciate the predictive value of the author’s findings.