Announced Action for August 5, 2005

Commission authorization of the staff to file joint amicus brief: The Commission has authorized the staff to file a joint amicus brief with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the matter Illinois Tool Works Inc. v. Independent Ink, Inc., No. 04-1329 (U.S. S. Court). The brief urges the reversal of a Federal Circuit Court decision, which held that there is an exception for patented products from the requirement that an antitrust plaintiff challenging a tying arrangement under Section 1 of the Sherman Act prove that the defendant has market power in the tying product market.

The Commission vote authorizing the staff of the Office of General Counsel to file the joint brief with the DOJ was 3-0, with Commissioner Jon Leibowitz not participating. Copies of the brief can be found as a link to this press release on the FTC’s Web site. (FTC File No. P052103; the staff contact is John F. Daly, Office of General Counsel, 202-326-2244.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Media Contact:

Office of Public Affairs
202-326-2180

Illinois Tool Works Inc., et al., Petitioners, v. Independent Ink, Inc., In the Supreme Court of the United States, On Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Case No. 04-1329)

• Brief for the United States and the Federal Trade Commission As Amici Curiae Supporting Petitioners