New Block Exemption For R&D Agreements

Introduction

Beginning on 1 July 2023, a new block exemption regulation for research and development ("R&D") agreements will come into force following its publication by the European Commission at the start of June this year. This replaces a previous block exemption regulation due to expire on 30 June, which provided a safe harbour for both the conduct of R&D and the joint exploitation of results from the prohibition on anti-competitive arrangements in article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union ("TFEU") since 2010. These block exemptions, as article 101(1) TFEU would restrict R&D agreements, by their nature, are collaborative endeavours involving competitors and potential competitors which might fall foul of article 101(1) TFEU and the block exemptions have proven useful in providing parties the certainty of a safe harbour from competition law whilst laying down certain conditions to ensure competition and innovation is not hampered.