The Commission updates EU competition rules on technology licensing agreements

The European Commission has adopted the revised Block Exemption Regulation applicable to technology transfer agreements (‘RECATT’) and the Guidelines on the application of Article 101 of the Treaty to technology transfer agreements (‘Guidelines’), following a comprehensive review of the provisions in force since 2014.

Technology transfer agreements are agreements whereby an undertaking holding technology rights such as patents, design rights or copyright in computer software authorises another undertaking, usually by granting a licence, to use those rights to produce goods or services. As these agreements facilitate the dissemination of technology and encourage research and development, they are generally pro-competitive, but certain agreements or restrictions within them may also have negative effects on competition.

The TTBER exempts technology transfer agreements from the prohibition on anti-competitive agreements laid down in Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (‘TFEU’), provided that certain conditions are met. The Guidelines help undertakings to interpret the TTBER and provide guidance on the assessment of technology transfer and other technology-related agreements that fall outside the scope of the block exemption.

The TTBER and the revised guidelines provide businesses with updated provisions to help them assess the compatibility of their technology licensing agreements with EU competition rules. The changes to the provisions relate to two key features of the digital economy: the strategic importance of data and the increased use of standard-essential technologies for the purposes of interoperability between products.

These new provisions will enter into force on 1 May 2026.

Key changes

The main changes to the provisions relate to new market practices:

• Data licensing agreements.Given the strategic importance of data, the revised Guidelines include a new section on the assessment of data licences for production purposes, in accordance with Article 101 TFEU. This section explains, for example, that licences for databases protected by copyright or by EU database rights are generally pro-competitive and that the Commission will assess such data licences by applying the same principles as those applied to technology transfer agreements.
• Licence negotiation groups(‘LNGs’). These are agreements between technology integrators to jointly negotiate the terms of the licences they wish to obtain from technology owners. For example, product manufacturers may need access to patents that form part of a technological standard. The Guidelines now contain a section explaining the potential pro-competitive and anti-competitive effects of LNBs, the distinction between genuine LNBs and buyer cartels, and the relevant factors for assessing whether an LNB is likely to restrict competition. It also highlights the measures that LNBs can take to reduce the risk of infringing Article 101 TFEU.

Further changes have been introduced to clarify and simplify the application of the provisions.

In particular, the application of the RECATT market share thresholds has been simplified for situations where licensing takes place before a technology has been commercialised. In addition, certain conditions of the regulatory safeguard for technology consortia set out in the Guidelines have been specified in greater detail, to ensure that the benefit of the regulatory safeguard is reserved for consortia that comply with Article 101 TFEU. Technology pools are agreements under which multiple technology owners contribute their technology rights to a package that is licensed to the contributing parties and to third parties. Technology pools typically support technology standards, such as telecommunications standards.

More detailed information on the changes can be found in an explanatory note accompanying the revised provisions.

Background

Article 101(1) TFEU prohibits agreements between undertakings that restrict competition. However, under Article 101(3) TFEU, such agreements are compatible with the single market provided that they contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods or to promoting technical or economic progress, whilst allowing consumers a fair share of the resulting benefits and not eliminating competition.

In November 2024, the Commission published a Commission staff working document setting out the conclusions of the 2014 evaluation of the RECATT and the related guidelines. The evaluation confirmed that these instruments remained useful and relevant, but also identified areas for improvement regarding legal certainty and the need to reflect market developments. In January 2025, the Commission launched an impact assessment to gather evidence on options for revising the provisions. This involved an open public consultation, a stakeholder workshop, meetings with stakeholders and national competition authorities, and an expert study on data licensing.

In September 2025, the Commission published the draft revised RECATT and Guidelines for consultation. Comments from the consultation were taken into account in the new RECATT and Guidelines.

The results of the various consultation activities are summarised in the impact assessment report.

More information: European Commission.