earticle

영어

EC Treaty is based on two principles of free trade and undistorted competition. Free trade is protected by the free trade regulations of commercial products or services. Undistorted competition is protected by the competition principle of agreements prescribed from the Article 81 to Article 89. Article 81 and Article 82 among the principles about competition of communities are the most core of competition laws. The Article 81 is a regulation about prohibition of competition limiting behavior and the Article 82 is a regulation which prohibits abuse of overriding position. Both Articles has a important meaning. Therefore, the Article 81 and the Article 82 of EC competition laws! and their relationships regarding the patent property rights are reviewed. Regarding the transfer of the patent property rights! the new block exemption regulation 772/2004' is applied to the technology transfer agreements involving patents! know- hews or software copyrights (EC Regulation). On the same date the Commission also released a guide that provides advice for applying the new block exemption and for evaluating the antitrust risks of licensing agreements that fall outside the scope of the new Regulation. The new EC Regulation and the accompanying EC guidelines develop an analytical framework that is similar to the framework described in the US. Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property (US. Guidelines). Despite the many similarities in the US and EU policy documents for the antitrust review of technology licensing agreements, there are important differences that should be noted by anyone involved in technology licensing in the United States and in the European Union. The US Guidelines focus on possible harm to inter-technology competition from licensing arrangements. The EC Regulation and Guidelines express concerns about loss of intra-technology competition as well as inter-technology competition. Despite these differences, which stem from contrasting principles in EU and US. antitrust laws, the new EC Regulation and Guidelines are a quantum leap toward a globally consistent approach to antitrust policy for technology licensing.