Revised Technology Transfer Block Exemption Rules

On 21 March 2014, the European Commission adopted the new rules for the assessment of technology transfer agreements between two undertakings. The regime maintains two separate instruments: the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation (TTBER), which creates a safe harbour, under certain conditions, for licensing agreements concluded between companies with limited market power, and Technology Transfer Guidelines (Guidelines), which provide guidance on the application of the TTBER, as well as on the application of EU competition law to technology transfer agreements that fall outside the safe harbour of the TTBER.