Private enforcement of competition law

I attended a workshop of the Competition Law Scholars Forum in Glasgow last week. As we are great advocates of crossing interdisciplinary boundaries, it was nice to meet so many competition specialists.

The subject was "Private Enforcement of Competition Law". An intense but enjoyable day covered many of the issues of private enforcement. It focussed on the EC Commission Green Paper presently in consultation phase, but also raised questions of standing, follow on claims, and the relationship between and reasons for public and private enforcement, particuarly in "de novo" actions where there has been no finding by a competition authority.

I find this most interesting: could it be argued by a generic manufacturer that it was abuse of a dominant position for a patent owner to refuse to supply a vital component or permit manufacture of patented goods by another? Could the patent be a defence? How important is the private loss of the manufacturer or, say, patients, as opposed to possible wider public disadvantage IF such actions did indeed lead to reduced R&D and patenting by patent holders?