The New Technology Transfer Block Exemption: Will the New Block Exemption Balance the Goals of Innovation and Competition?

Licensors and licensees have long enjoyed the benefit of block exemption regulations for technology licensing. Block exemption regulations were adopted in the mid-80s for patent licensing and know-how licenses. These were combined and replaced in 1996 by a unified Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBE). This block exemption is currently under review. DG Competition is writing a draft for a new T\u27BE. It is expected to be ready for review by the member states in September, and to be published for comments in October. The Commission hopes to have the new block exemption adopted and published in the first quarter of 2004, just before the accession of the new member states and the entry into force of the Regulation 1/2003 on the Implementation of Article 81 and 82 EC

Standards For Standards

This Article discusses the application of European competition law to standardization activities and associated Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”) Policies and licensing arrangements. It briefly discusses the objectives of standardization activities in Europe and contains a general introduction into relevant principles of European Community (“EC”) competition law. This is followed by a review of principles and antitrust case law relating to: (a) restrictions on membership and access to the standardization process; (b) possible spill-over effects; (c) standard depth and over-standardization; (d) selection of technology for standards; (e) access to standards information and essential IPRs; (f) IPR Policies and problems associated with non-disclosure, late disclosure, or incomplete disclosure of essential patents; and (g) compulsory licensing of essential IPRs under Articles 81(3) (ex Article 85(3)) and 82 (ex Article 86) of the Treaty Establishing the European Community (“EC Treaty”), and disputes concerning royalties and licensing terms in a standards environment. Some standards for standards appear at the end of this Article

The Proposed New Technology Transfer Block Exemption: Is Europe Really Better Off Than with the Current Regulation?

This article discusses the legal and economic foundations, as well as the practical implications of the Commission\u27s proposal for a new technology transfer block exemption regulation ( TTBER\u27\u27) and associated Guidelines. The article concludes that the new TTBER brings desirable flexibility to the assessment of the competitive effects of technology licensing agreements by abolishing the current division of the clauses into four categories of exempted, white, black and grey clauses. The Commission\u27s proposal is also praised for extending the scope of the Regulation to software copyright licences and for exempting some efficiency-enhancing restrictions that currently fall outside of the TTBER. The article, however, adopts a critical stand towards market share ceilings that the new TTBER introduces and criticises the overly stringent approach that the Commission adopts towards licensing between competitors. Finally, the article discusses some implications of the tightening of the rules on territorial restrictions. The article suggests alternatives, which, according to the authors, would lead to a more effective regulatory framework and to more efficient dissemination of new technologies

The New Technology Transfer Block Exemption: Will the New Block Exemption Balance the Goals of Innovation and Competition?

Licensors and licensees have long enjoyed the benefit of block exemption regulations for technology licensing. Block exemption regulations were adopted in the mid-80s for patent licensing and know-how licenses. These were combined and replaced in 1996 by a unified Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBE). This block exemption is currently under review. DG Competition is writing a draft for a new T\u27BE. It is expected to be ready for review by the member states in September, and to be published for comments in October. The Commission hopes to have the new block exemption adopted and published in the first quarter of 2004, just before the accession of the new member states and the entry into force of the Regulation 1/2003 on the Implementation of Article 81 and 82 EC

The New Technology Transfer Block Exemption: A Welcome Reform, After All

This article discusses the most important changes introduced at the final stage of the Commission\u27s review of the technology transfer block exemption regulation (“TTBER ), and examines the benefits and the challenges of the new regulatory framework for technology licensing. The new TTBER represents a significant improvement over the Commission\u27s draft TTBER, published in October 2003. Most importantly, the Commission agreed to revise the list of hardcore restrictions between competitors, which was over-inclusive and had the potential to seriously hinder technology licensing in horizontal agreements. In addition, the list of hardcore restrictions between non-competitors and the interpretation of know-how\u27\u27 (and thus the scope of the TTBER) were adjusted to reflect the comments submitted during the consultation period preceding the publication of the final TTBER. Significant changes were also made to the Guidelines, for instance, with respect to cross-licence agreements between competitors. Some difficulties remain in the final TTBER, mainly concerning the introduction of market share ceilings. However, on balance, the new TTBER can be considered to represent a desirable regulatory change. The final regulation promotes dynamic competition through innovation and contains a number of provisions that contribute towards a more liberal, flexible and economic oriented regulation of technology transfer agreements

The Proposed New Technology Transfer Block Exemption: Is Europe Really Better Off Than with the Current Regulation?

This article discusses the legal and economic foundations, as well as the practical implications of the Commission\u27s proposal for a new technology transfer block exemption regulation ( TTBER\u27\u27) and associated Guidelines. The article concludes that the new TTBER brings desirable flexibility to the assessment of the competitive effects of technology licensing agreements by abolishing the current division of the clauses into four categories of exempted, white, black and grey clauses. The Commission\u27s proposal is also praised for extending the scope of the Regulation to software copyright licences and for exempting some efficiency-enhancing restrictions that currently fall outside of the TTBER. The article, however, adopts a critical stand towards market share ceilings that the new TTBER introduces and criticises the overly stringent approach that the Commission adopts towards licensing between competitors. Finally, the article discusses some implications of the tightening of the rules on territorial restrictions. The article suggests alternatives, which, according to the authors, would lead to a more effective regulatory framework and to more efficient dissemination of new technologies

The New Technology Transfer Block Exemption: A Welcome Reform, After All

This article discusses the most important changes introduced at the final stage of the Commission\u27s review of the technology transfer block exemption regulation (“TTBER ), and examines the benefits and the challenges of the new regulatory framework for technology licensing. The new TTBER represents a significant improvement over the Commission\u27s draft TTBER, published in October 2003. Most importantly, the Commission agreed to revise the list of hardcore restrictions between competitors, which was over-inclusive and had the potential to seriously hinder technology licensing in horizontal agreements. In addition, the list of hardcore restrictions between non-competitors and the interpretation of know-how\u27\u27 (and thus the scope of the TTBER) were adjusted to reflect the comments submitted during the consultation period preceding the publication of the final TTBER. Significant changes were also made to the Guidelines, for instance, with respect to cross-licence agreements between competitors. Some difficulties remain in the final TTBER, mainly concerning the introduction of market share ceilings. However, on balance, the new TTBER can be considered to represent a desirable regulatory change. The final regulation promotes dynamic competition through innovation and contains a number of provisions that contribute towards a more liberal, flexible and economic oriented regulation of technology transfer agreements

European Community Communications Law : An Introduction

The present article is an abridged version of a chapter to the book EC Electronic Communications and Competition Law (London: Cameron May, 2007). It provides an introduction to the rules at the European Community level governing the electronic communications sector (previously and more traditionally referred to as telecommunications). Such an introduction encompasses essentially an enquiry into the relevant competition law rules, of which here particular attention is paid to abuse of dominant position and the essential facilities doctrine, as well as an analysis of the EC sector specific regulatory framework, which has substantially evolved since the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector back in the beginning of the 1990s. It is the objective of the article to explore to what extent both regulatory tools could deal with the specificities of communications markets, and where they may fail to do so