In re Effexor XR Antitrust Litigation

Supplemental Brief of Amicus Curiae Federal Trade Commission Supporting Plaintiffs-Appellants, and Motion For Leave To File Supplemental Brief, Filed to urge the Court of Appeals to reject defendants’ argument, not addressed by the District Court below, that their settlement agreement is exempt from antitrust scrutiny under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine.  Settlements among private litigants, including patent settlements, are considered commercial activity subject to antitrust scrutiny, not petitioning activity protected by the Noerr doctrine.  Applying Noerr to settlements or consent decrees could effectively enable parties to shield anticompetitive behavior.