The UK and EU competition rules for research and development agreements: falling out of lockstep

Abstract

Until 2023, the UK and EEA had applied the same rules to govern collaboration and competition in the area of research and development. Post-Brexit, they have now gone their separate ways with each creating their own legislation in the form of so-called ‘block exemptions’, which permit certain restrictions of competition and proscribe others. This article considers the two block exemptions side by side, alongside the statutory guidance which has been drafted by the authorities in each jurisdiction. While both block exemptions are broadly similar, such that the parties can consider their requirements side-by-side when planning their collaboration, the different legislative styles of the UK and EU mean that this cannot readily be done by reading the legislation. This article addresses this issue and also flags the points of difference between the two new regimes which would-be parties to research and development-based collaborations must consider. In particular, this article considers in detail the UK legislation’s new closer scrutiny of so-called ‘competition in innovation’.