Legal setbacks and legislative inaction may push US FTC to consider 'Plan C' to address patent settlement agreements

Recent judicial setbacks for the USA’s Federal Trade Commission) in actions challenging patent settlement agreements (often called  “pay-for-delay” or “reverse payment” deals) and opposition from both Republicans and Democrats to the inclusion of the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act (S 369) in the Fiscal Year 2011 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Bill (S 3677) may cause the FTC to consider “Plan C” to address such agreements, according to the agency’s Commissioner J Thomas Rosch.