Out of Sync?: DOJ’s Policy Reversal Towards SEPs Lacks Legal Support

In a series of recent statements, the US Department of Justice’s antitrust division has expressed an apparent policy shift regarding the application of competition law to the assertion of standard-essential patents subject to a commitment to license on fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms. Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe partner Jay Jurata and associate Emily Luken say the seeming reversal is troubling because it is out of sync with a large and growing body of US case law.