Berkeley - The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division will hold joint hearings at the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business Feb. 25-28 to develop a better understanding of how to manage issues that arise at the intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law and policy.

Part of a national series of hearings on "Competition and Intellectual Property Law and Policy in the Knowledge-Based Economy," the UC Berkeley events are organized around the theme, "Economic Perspectives and Real-World Experience with Patents."

For four days, national leaders in academia and industry will present their experiences and findings to the commission. Thirteen UC Berkeley professors will be presenting at the hearings. Daily sessions will focus on business and other testimony regarding the "real world" experience with patents and competition, and explore economic and business perspectives on intellectual property, competition, and innovation.

UC Berkeley faculty hosts to the conference are:

* Joseph Farrell, chair of the Competition Policy Center and professor of economics
* Carl Shapiro, director of the Institute of Business and Economics Research and Transamerica Professor of Business Strategy at the Haas School of Business
* Peter Menell, executive director of the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology and professor of law

Both Farrell and Shapiro have previously served as deputy assistant attorney general for economic analysis at the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.

Individual sessions are tentatively scheduled on the following topics:

* Economic perspectives on intellectual property, competition and innovation
* Business perspectives on patents: biotech and pharmaceuticals
* Business perspectives on patents: software and the Internet
* Diverse perspectives on patents
* Economic and other perspectives on patent standards and procedures
* Business perspectives on patents: hardware and semiconductors

The event is open to the public. All sessions will be held in the Wells Fargo Room at the Haas School of Business on the UC Berkeley campus. The Haas School is located at the east end of campus on Gayley Road between Hearst Avenue and Bancroft Way.

NOTE: Information on the UC Berkeley sessions and the presenters, directions, and parking is available at http://haas.berkeley.edu/groups/cpc/Events/Events.html.

For more information, please contact Ute Frey at the Haas School of Business at (510) 642-0342 or at frey@haas.berkeley.edu.