Scholars and Enforcement Officials Join Practitioners to Address Competition Policy and its Impact on Innovation

CHICAGO, May 10, 2010 — What is the impact of enforcement and competition policy on creativity and innovation in business?  How can policy encourage innovators to develop new business models and products while thriving in a competitive marketplace? These questions, along with analysis of the factors impacting innovation – the economic landscape, mergers and business conduct, and intellectual property law, among them — are the focus of the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law’s national Antitrust and Innovation Symposium, cosponsored by Stanford School of Law, May 20-21 at the law school in Palo Alto, Calif.

A keynote address by Prof. Herbert J. Hovenkamp of the University of Iowa will open the program.  Key industry leaders will participate in discussions with economists and experts on antitrust and intellectual property law to examine issues that are increasingly in the news. Sessions will focus on how policy can spark innovation to help businesses, protect consumers, and foster a robust and forward-thinking environment that rewards new ideas.

Sessions begin at 3 p.m. on May 20 and at 9 a.m. on May 21.

Program highlights include:

Thursday, May 20

Keynote Address by Herbert J. Hovenkamp

Panel:  “Innovation Policy and Economics – What Drives Innovation?”

Friday, May 21

Panel: “Merger Enforcement and Innovation”

Panel: “Unilateral Conduct, Licensing, and Innovation”

Luncheon Keynote by Brad Smith, senior vice president, legal and corporate affairs, Microsoft Corporation

Panel: “Standard, Patent Pools, and Innovation”

Panel: “Reconciling Patent Policy and Competition Policy.”

For updated program information, including course descriptions and a full listing of speakers visit http://www.abanet.org/antitrust/symposium2010.html.

With more than 9,000 members, the ABA Section of Antitrust Law is the leading national forum for ongoing analysis of policies and developments affecting competition and consumer protection law.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

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Note to Editors: Accredited reporters are welcome to cover the symposium for free. Contact Deborah Weixl, ABA Division for Media Relations and Communication Services at 312/988-6126 or weixld@staff.abanet.org. Stanford Law School is located at 559 Nathan Abbot Way on the campus. Materials and registration will be available on site.