Editorial

摘要

Matt Sumpter's piece on the interface between intellectual property law and competition law helps to shed light on both legal regimes, and does so vividly. It is sometimes forgotten that the two necessary legal fundaments of a market economy are clear property rights and secure transacting rules. Where the field of market competition is innovative, cultural, or branded goods, property rights that need to be clearly delineated include intellectual property. To deride IP rights as inherently anti-competitive is to deride market competition in the fields of innovation, cultural goods or branding. Sumpter aptly makes this point, while at the same time highlighting those settings where the aggregation or manner of exploitation of IP rights (ie, aside from any right per se) can implicate competition law concerns.