Licensing agreements and competition law: An overview of EU and national case law

1. Introduction The subject of licensing and competition law at EU level has benefitted from great debate and evolution over the last few decades. The first iteration of the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation ("TTBER"), published in 1996 [1] and viewed by some as rather sceptical and straight-jacketed, underwent substantial revision only a few years later, resulting in the current TTBER which views licensing as typically benign or pro-competitive [2]. Even now that iteration of the TTBER is currently under review, and developments in this area look set to continue for some time. The European Commission ("Commission") and the EU Courts have stoked debate about intellectual property rights ("IPR") and compulsory licensing in abuse of dominance cases throughout the 1990s and