The interface between intellectual property and competition policy is a difficult one. Both aim to correct for market failure in the pursuit of economic efficiency. However, in correcting for one market failure, we may exacerbate another. This article raises a number of specific issues which have arisen at this interface, at both the policy and enforcement levels. It discusses the Australian response to questions of spare parts, journalists copyright, parallel imports, databases and collecting societies, all issues which have arisen internationally in recent years.