One of the most debated issues in US antitrust and EU competition law is the practice of patent settlements (a.k.a. “pay for delay” or “reverse payments”) in the pharma sector. This presentation elaborates on this important topic and debates if there is a tendency towards an exceptional treatment of IPRs that may result in the development of a lex specialis. Special focus will be laid on recent US developments.

32nd Annual Congress of the International Association for the Advancement of Teaching and Research in Intellectual Property (ATRIP) Is Intellectual Property a Lex Specialis? Pembroke College University of Oxford Date: 23-26 June 2013 Intellectual property laws are often viewed (both by experts in the field and by others) as exceptional. Is this true? To what extent do intellectual property laws displace or conflict with generally applicable legal rules, whether of private law, public law or procedural law? To what extent could (and should) these aspects of intellectual property law simply be handled by general principles of law? Increasingly, disputes about intellectual property are adjudicated by specialist courts and judges; is this appropriate, and how does it alter the development and interpretation of intellectual property law? This Congress will explore this theme of special or exceptional treatment by examining the interaction of intellectual property law and other bodies of law. Panels will encompass questions of private law (property, tort and contract law), public law (administrative and constitutional law), procedural law (such as conflicts of law and the use of specialist courts), and international law (including international trade law). The University of Oxford hosted the 2013 Congress in the beautiful and historic setting of Pembroke College, one of Oxford's 38 colleges. Pembroke College was founded in 1624. Alumni of the college include Samuel Johnson, as well as JRR Tolkien's and Senator J. William Fulbright. Recent Masters include the neurologist and record-breaking runner, Sir Roger Bannister, and Professor of Law, Robert Stevens.