Innovation, intellectual property rights and competition policy

The intersection of intellectual property rights (IPRs) and competition laws is one of the most complex areas of law and economics. IPRs, which are generally considered necessary to promote innovation, could create monopolies while competition law battles monopolies. How do the two policies interact? Is there a balance or a conflict? In this light, the present paper revisits the relevant economic literature. Further, the paper examines the experiences from several countries in grappling with the problems of reconciling IPRs and competition policies. The paper concludes that the conflict between the two regimes can possibly be restrained if competition agencies are constricted either by judiciary or professional norms, or by means of administrative policy from seeking to fine tune the IPR protection.