Trademark Licensing Agreements in Light of the EC Competition Rules

Abstract

Uno de los problemas que plantean los contratos de licencia de marcas es la conciliación del interés de los contratantes con el Derecho de la competencia. Por un lado, es preciso garantizar a las partes la más amplia libertad contractual, al mismo tiempo que, no obstante, debe preservarse, por otro, la libre competencia en el mercado. El presente artículo constituye una aproximación al régimen de los contratos de licencia en dicho contexto, en el que la clave es encontrar el balance adecuado entre los legítimos intereses de los titulares de derechos sobre marcas y la protección de la competencia leal, dos conceptos que se complementan uno a otro y que constituyen elemento indispensable del mercado común Europeo.

Licensing of trademarks is one of the areas where interests of trademark holders and competition rules overlap. On the one side, there is a need to guarantee to the parties the broadest possible freedom in shaping the licensing contract, on the other again, protection of other traders and of undistorted competition in the market remains the matter of concern for European authorities. The present paper provides an overview of the rules relating to trademark licensing agreements, as they were developed by the European institutions and shaped according to requirements of the EU competition law. It is to highlight the search for the right balance between legitimate interests of trademark holders and protection of fair competition, the two concepts which complement each other and which constitute an indispensable element of the Common Market.