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Federal Trade Commission and Intellectual Property Rights

Photo courtesy of Armando Irizarry

Armando Irizarry Date: Monday, 10 September 2007 Time: 9:00 a.m. EDT (1300 GMT) View Webchat Transcript

Intellectual property rights and the laws protecting those rights are increasingly important in an age of global markets and flows of information. The Federal Trade Commission promotes policies to strengthen the quality of intellectual property in order to foster innovative and competitive markets. Please join Armando Irizarry, FTC's counsel for intellectual property, in discussing intellectual property rights and competition law.

Guest Biography: Armando Irizarry is counsel for intellectual property at the Federal Trade Commission in Washington. A member of the FTC’s Office of Policy and Coordination of the Bureau of Competition, Irizarry is involved in shaping policies related to the intersection of intellectual property (IP) and competition laws. He also participates in investigations related to potentially anti-competitive conduct that involve IP issues. Irizarry has been a guest speaker of the State Department, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission/United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in programs abroad about competition policy and the IP provisions of free trade agreements. He also has taught IP law courses at the law schools of Florida State University and Michigan State University. Irizarry began his legal career with Fish & Neave in New York City, where he specialized in patent litigation. He is a graduate from the University of Michigan Law School and holds engineering degrees from the University of Puerto Rico and the University of Pennsylvania.