On May 1, 2026, the new EU Regulation governing technology licensing agreements (Regulation (EU) 2026/877) came into force, renewing the legal regime that we have had in force in this area since 2014.
On this occasion, the legislative change is less radical than the one experienced twelve years ago, when the European legislator completely changed the approach in this matter and structured its regulation from a more economist perspective, based on market share thresholds and less contractual (classification of clauses).
More than a legal reform, it is an update of the previous regulations to the new times. The objective and subjective scope remains the same, but it is now clarified that it also applies to data agreements (e.g. data licences for production purposes), technology pools and licence negotiation groups (‘LNG’), where licence terms are jointly negotiated by several potential licensees.
There are other changes aimed at clarifying and facilitating regulatory application that are reflected in the new guidelines, which now incorporate issues related to essential patents for standards (SEPs); FRAND obligations, references to negotiation mechanisms and dispute resolution
Agreements that were already in force have until 30 April 2027 to adapt to the new Regulation.
EU press release in English:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_26_809
Ignacio Temiño
Lawyer
