In this article, authors Margaret Kyle, Vivek Mani and Sinan Corus consider recent high-profile cases in the EU and the US where intellectual property (IP) rights and competition policy intersect. They also discuss the impact of IP rights on the competitive assessment, and note rising concerns about transactions that may have an adverse effect on future competition. The article begins with a discussion of reverse payment agreements, notably judgements by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Paroxetine and Lundbeck. Next, the authors analyse the judgement by US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in FTC v. Qualcomm, focusing on the court’s insights on how to assess the competitive effects of licensing practices. The authors then consider the European Commission’s recent Aspen investigation and excessive pricing assessments. Finally, they turn to merger control matters, and describe the role of IP rights in vertical mergers.