Event Title
Patent Settlement Agreements and the Prohibition of Repayment of Contributions
Panel
Panel 9: Competition and Compensation
Moderator
Shelly Gulati, Associate Professor, University of the Pacific, School of Engineering and Computer Science
Description
Pay for delay deals are agreements between a brand-name drug manufacturer and a potential generic competitor, by which the patent holder agrees to pay a specific amount of money to prevent the competitor from bringing lower-cost alternatives to the market. Such agreements can obviously get into conflict with antitrust law. However, if the deal takes place within a pharma group (e. g. by instruction from the patent holding parent company to its generic subsidiary), it is widely considered to be permissible due to the „group privilege“ in antitrust law. The presentation tries to prove that such deals regularly constitute a prohibited „repayment of contributions“ under Austrian law. Legal consequence is the nullity of the agreement and the possibility for any competitor to file a cease and desist order under the Austrian Unfair Competition Act. The presentation will also compare these findings to the legal situation in Germany.
Location
Pacific McGeorge School of Law, Lecture Hall, 3200 Fifth Ave., Sacramento, CA
Patent Settlement Agreements and the Prohibition of Repayment of Contributions
Pacific McGeorge School of Law, Lecture Hall, 3200 Fifth Ave., Sacramento, CA
Pay for delay deals are agreements between a brand-name drug manufacturer and a potential generic competitor, by which the patent holder agrees to pay a specific amount of money to prevent the competitor from bringing lower-cost alternatives to the market. Such agreements can obviously get into conflict with antitrust law. However, if the deal takes place within a pharma group (e. g. by instruction from the patent holding parent company to its generic subsidiary), it is widely considered to be permissible due to the „group privilege“ in antitrust law. The presentation tries to prove that such deals regularly constitute a prohibited „repayment of contributions“ under Austrian law. Legal consequence is the nullity of the agreement and the possibility for any competitor to file a cease and desist order under the Austrian Unfair Competition Act. The presentation will also compare these findings to the legal situation in Germany.
Speaker Bio
MMag. GDR. Patrick Warto is Associate Professor at the Institute of Austrian and International Business Law at the University of Salzburg. He is licensed to teach civil law and business law.
The research focus of Patrick Warto lies in civil law basic research and corporate law. Apart from corporate law issues, legal issues surrounding religious minorities are the focus of previous publication activities. As part of his consultancy activities, he was involved in a number of fundamental decisions of the Supreme Court (EGMR, VfGH, VwGH).
The University of Salzburg maintains close ties with the American McGeorge School of Law. Patrick Warto regularly teaches one of the four courses at the McGeorge Summer School, which is primarily aimed at American students. In addition to his teaching, Patrick Warto acts as coordinator for all administrative issues related to the cooperation agreements between the University of Salzburg and the University of the Pacific.
Beside law he studied communication science, sociology and psychology.