| PAEs primarily focuses on purchasing and asserting patents. Since they came into being, they have played a double sword role in the society based on their special business models. On the one hand, PAEs could be helpful for estimating the value of the patents, and they can promote the transformation of patents to products which could facilitate the monetization of patents. Furthermore, PAEs also could be the defenders of the patent right and compensates the original owners of patents which could promote innovation. On the other hand, the strategic behaviors conducted by PAEs may raise the rivals' costs, facilitate the downstream firms, maintain or even strengthen the market power improperly, enhance the downstream market's barrier to entry, which could exclude or restrict the competition of the relevant market. At the same time, it can also increase the total costs of society and hurt consumers. The efficiency and the negative effects brought by PAEs are simultaneous.Consequently, it is difficult for the enforcement agencies and judicial organs to regulate PAEs effectively. In practice, the anti-competitive behaviors carried out by PAEs could be regulated by antitrust law in general, but there also exists behaviors which are secret and tend to diversification and deepening. It is not easy to identifying them, let alone regulation. In conclusion, there still lack of effective analysis framework regulating PAEs' anti-competitive behaviors. Based on those facts, after coming up with the difficulties of regulating PAEs,this paper gives suggestions by comparative analysis of the regulations and related cases of US and EU combined with the analysis of local situations.This paper consisted of four parts, including the introduction. The introduction introduced the background and the meanings of this paper, the other experts' researches, the research methods, and the advantages of this paper.The first chapter expounds the basic theory of PAEs. It explains the basic concept, business models, classification of PAEs, and indicates the efficiency and anti-competitive effects brought by them. It is aimed at clarifying connotation and particularity of PAEs under different business models and analyzing the concrete operation process which could be helpful for analyzing the anti-competitive conducts which may brought by PAEs. In conclusion, chapter one is the foundation of the whole paper.Based on the first chapter, the second chapter describes the anti-competitive behaviors of PAEs specifically. First, PAEs and the downstream company may come to an monopoly agreement which benefit the above parties but increase the rivals' cost and hurt consumers. Second, PAEs may abuse market dominant position charging unfairly high patent royalties, tying and adding unreasonable conditions, especially when PAEs hold standard essential patents. Third, the strategic acquisitions of patents and the establishment of joint venture by pure PAEs and downstream firms may lead to the scrutiny under the clause of concentrations of undertakings. Furthermore, behaviors abusing patent assertions are widely criticized by society. PAEs threat the target company using their worries about the injunctive relief, high cost of suit and reputation in order to charge unfairly high royalties, help the downstream company increase the rival's cost at the same time.The third chapter discusses the difficulties of regulation of PAEs under antitrust law and then come up with related suggestions after the illustration of chapter two. First, it describes the difficulties of regulation of PAEs under antitrust law according to the four kinds monopoly behaviors mentioned by the second chapter in order. Second, it takes lessons from US and EU. Third, learning from foreign experience as well as experiences of local cases, it gives constructive suggestions aimed at solving above obstacles based on local situations orderly. |
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