Privateers and Trolls Join the Global Patent Wars; Can Competition Authorities Disarm Them?

Patents are supposed to foster innovation, but are now also used to block it. The system is turning against itself. If antitrust authorities and courts allow this to continue, these practices will spread. Those who foster privateering may become the victims of their own strategems, and the problem may infect other industries. It may well be some time before consumers see increased prices and reduced competition, but when they do, it will be even more difficult to redress the problem. Prevention is better than cure. Privateering can and should be addressed under Article 101 TFEU.