Blog
Legal Cooperation between Businesses
30th December 2010
Not all instances of collusive behaviour are deemed to be illegal by the European Union Competition Authorities. Practices are not prohibited if the respective agreements “contribute to improving the production or distribution of goods or to promoting technical progress in a market.”
• Development of improved industry standards of production and safety which benefit the consumer
• Information sharing designed to give better information to consumers
• Research joint-ventures and know-how agreements which seek to promote innovative and inventive behaviour in a market. The EU has introduced a “R&D Block Exemption Regulation” for this
In December 2010 the EU Competition Commission introduced new guidelines on the types of ‘horizontal cooperation’ that is allowed under EU laws. And here is a good recent example - the development of and agreement on joint industry standards in Europe for mobile phone chargers which means that mobile and smartphone users will soon be able to use a standardised charger.
The common charger will make life easier for consumers, reduce waste (good for the environment) and benefit businesses who dont have to spend as much on developing their own charger technologies.
Apple, Emblaze Mobile, Huawei Technologies, LGE, Motorola, NEC, Nokia, Qualcomm, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, TCT Mobile (Alcatel), and Texas Instruments have all signed up to the agreement.
Geoff Riley
Geoff Riley FRSA has been teaching Economics for over thirty years. He has over twenty years experience as Head of Economics at leading schools. He writes extensively and is a contributor and presenter on CPD conferences in the UK and overseas.