Fiona Garside
Fiona Garside is a Senior Expertise Lawyer in Ashurst's Antitrust, Regulation and Foreign Investment team. She has advised on a wide range of EU and UK competition law matters, including cartel investigations, merger control, market reviews/investigations and competition law compliance, with particular experience in financial services.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2015
Experience
- Clifford Chance (2013 - 2021)
Qualifications
- LL.M. (2011)
- MA (Hons) Law (2010)
Education
- New York University, School of Law (2011)
- University of Cambridge, Trinity College (2010)
3 Contributions by Fiona Garside
CHECKLISTS
EU R&D Block Exemption Regulation 2023 (Reg 2023/1066): Drafting Checklist for R&D Agreements—scope, conditions, market share thresholds, hardcore/excluded restrictions, duration, withdrawal, and transition period
R&D agreements—drafting for the EU R&D BER 2023—checklist
This Checklist outlines the key issues to address when preparing new Research and Development (R&D) agreements, or revising current R&D arrangements, to determine whether they fall within the EU R&D BER 2023 (Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1066 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) to specific categories of research and development agreements). It is not a detailed manual on the EU R&D BER 2023; rather, it is a practical tool for commercial lawyers aiming to confirm that an R&D agreement sits within the EU R&D BER 2023 and the accompanying Horizontal Guidelines.
Introduction to the EU R&D BER 2023
Any arrangement that impacts trade or restricts competition in the EU may fall under the ban on anti‑competitive agreements in Article 101(1) TFEU. That said, an agreement will not be prohibited if it:
meets the conditions for exemption under Article 101(3) TFEU, or
benefits from a relevant block exemption
R&D agreements are arrangements whereby two or more parties agree to conduct research jointly and/or collectively exploit the results of that research...
EU Law
CHECKLISTS
R&D agreements: IP and competition law drafting checklist covering scope of licence, ownership and exploitation of results, infringement management, warranties, indemnities, confidentiality and compliance with R&D block exemptions
Using this Checklist
This Checklist concentrates on the IP elements of R&D agreements and pinpoints the principal provisions commonly found in such contracts. It serves as a list of points to address when drafting, reviewing or negotiating these agreements. It also touches on central competition law issues. Nevertheless, a case-by-case analysis is required to confirm that an agreement’s IP clauses align with competition rules, notably the bans on anti-competitive agreements in Article 101(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 (CA 1998).
On 1 June 2023, the European Commission adopted the EU Research & Developments Block Exemption, Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/1066 (EU R&D BER), together with the related Horizontal Guidelines. The EU R&D BER took effect on 1 July 2023 and will lapse on 30 June 2035. On 5 December 2022, the UK government placed before Parliament the Competition Act 1998 (Research and Development Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2022 (UK R&D BEO), SI 2022/1271. The UK R&D BEO superseded the UK Retained R&D BER on 1 January 2023 and will end on 31 December 2035. It is a tool for drafting agreements...
IP
CHECKLISTS
Vertical agreements: IP and competition law checklist for licensing, restrictions, ownership, enforcement and risk allocation (including vertical and technology transfer block exemptions)
This Checklist
This Checklist examines the intellectual property elements of vertical agreements and outlines the principal competition law issues. It addresses:
the parties and configuration of vertical arrangements
identification of the IP
licence scope
limits on use of the IP
IP ownership
third-party IP
protection of the licensor’s IP
warranties and indemnities
On 10 May 2022, the European Commission adopted the EU Vertical Restraints Block Exemption, Regulation (EU) 2022/720 (EU VBER), along with the Vertical Guidelines. The EU VBER came into force on 1 June 2022 and will expire on 31 May 2034. See Practice Note: The Vertical Block Exemption Regulation 2022/720.
On 9 May 2022, the UK government laid before Parliament the Competition Act 1998 (Vertical Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2022 (UK VABEO), SI 2022/516. The UK VABEO replaced the UK Retained VBER on 1 June 2022 and will expire on 1 June 2028. See Practice Note: The Competition Act 1998 (Vertical Agreements Block Exemption) Order 2022.
This Checklist reflects the requirements of the EU VBER and the UK VABEO. For more information, see Practice Note: Applying block exemptions to IP agreements...
IP
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