Originally published as Covington E-Alert on February 26, 2013
On 20 February 2013, the European Commission published for consultation its proposal for revisions to the EU technology transfer competition regime. The consultation period runs until 17 May 2013. The new regime will be adopted before April 2014. The EU’s approach to the application of competition law to technology transfer agreements is set out in two instruments, the technology transfer block exemption regulation (“TTBER”) and the accompanying guidelines (“Guidelines”). The TTBER exempts certain types of technology agreements between entities, while the Guidelines address both the application of the TTBER and the approach of EU competition law to tech transfer agreements that do not benefit from the TTBER’s “safe harbour”.
THE MAIN PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE TTBER
The Commission is proposing to make a number of changes to the TTBER. First, it proposes to revise the test that determines whether certain provisions of tech transfer agreements, including those relating to the purchase of products by, and the licensing of trademarks to, the licensee, fall within the TTBER.
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