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Biotech / Medical : VISX -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Binford, Jr. who wrote (567)	5/13/1998 10:59:00 AM
From: Andrew Abrams	Respond to of 1754

I don't disagree with your assessment of the FTC's reason for the PPP breakup. In reality it seems that the impetus for this came from VISX as they should be getting a larger share of the royalty fee. Unfortunately, the restaraint of trade part is right in the FTC's domain, and they do seem to have a decent case according to legal opinion that we've gotten. The class action suits are based on the trade infringement but would be widened according to the lawyers if the patent issue moves to the forefront. The patent issue is definitely a strange issue, as it does infringe on the patent office's domain, but if it can be proven (your guess is as good as mine) it would complicate things enourmously. good luck. AA