Scientific Essay from the year 2007 in the subject Law - Comparative Legal Systems, Comparative Law, grade: "-", language: English, abstract: Global competition is particularly fierce in the IT and communication industry. For this reason the competitive landscape is changing permanently and innovation is a key competitive driver, especially in the software industry. The objectives of patent law however, run contrary to the objectives of antitrust legislation, which have the goal to foster competition and to protect market actors and to avoid damnifications. Additionally a permanent contradiction between privately funded research and collective standards exists.