Abstract

In "Kimble" v. "Marvel Entertainment", the Us Supreme Court not only confirmed that a contractual provision on the payment of post-expiration royalties is per se invalid. It also drew the attention on the coexistence of two philosophies, which, reduced to the essentials are, on one hand the primacy of contractual freedom and, on the other hand the approach focused on intellectual property rights. In this context, this judgment provides an opportunity to enter the debate on the misuse doctrine and on the convergence between intellectual property law and antitrust law, between abuses of the patent system and the analysis of effects produced on the market under the "rule of reason".