Technology transfer agreements are agreements through which a company, owner of technology rights (such as patents, design rights, or software copyrights), authorizes another company, usually by granting a license, to use the rights to produce goods or services. Such agreements typically promote more efficient use of resources and promote competition, as they can reduce duplication of research and development, incentivize initial research and development, foster innovation, facilitate the diffusion of technologies, and fuel competition in the product market.

The likelihood that these efficiency-enhancing and competition-promoting effects outweigh any anticompetitive effects resulting from restrictions contained in technology transfer agreements depends on the degree of market power of the companies involved and, consequently, the extent to which they face competition from other companies that own substitute technologies or produce substitute products.

Prohibition of anticompetitive agreements

Regarding competition between companies, Article 13 of the Italian Civil Code (C.F.I.) Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) prohibits agreements between undertakings that restrict competition. Specifically, this provision aims to ensure that undertakings do not use agreements, decisions by associations of undertakings, and concerted practices to...