Vertical Restraints Guidelines

United Kingdom
31/03/2000
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The Commission has issued a new draft of the Guidelines on Vertical Restraints. Substantial amendments in the new draft Guidelines concern the chapter on agency agreements, which will replace the existing Notice from 1962. Other amendments concern agreements containing provisions on intellectual property rights and franchising agreements, hardcore restrictions, active and passive sales, the use of the Internet, the five-year limit for non-compete clauses, and the Commission’s approach in assessing vertical agreements in individual cases which fall outside the scope of the Block Exemption Regulation.

On 23 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs approved a draft resolution broadly supporting the Commission’s new Guidelines on vertical restraints. The Commission is not obliged to consult Parliament, but the Committee is presenting various proposals to clarify questions such as agency agreements. The Committee said it also wants a specific action against restrictive resale agreements made by suppliers to protect national markets and stop parallel imports. (European Report No. 2487, 29/3/00).

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