76/29/EEC: Commission Decision of 2 December 1975 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the Treaty establishing the EEC (IV/26.949 - AOIP/Beyrard) (Only the French text is authentic)

• Articles: 4

Article 1

The following clauses of the patent licensing agreement concluded between the parties whose names are set out in Article 4 on 15 and 17 September 1951, as read with the supplementary agreement of 31 December 1953, constitute infringements of Article 85 (1) of the EEC Treaty: 1. clause 1 (1) (exclusivity);

2. clause 1 (2) (export prohibition);

3. clause 5 (2) (no-challenge clause);

4. clause 7 to the extent that (a) it extends the duration of the restrictive clauses of the agreement beyond the life of the most recent patent in force when the agreement or a supplementary agreement was made;

(b) it requires the licensee to pay royalties in respect of an expired patent or in respect of a patent which was granted after the date when the licensing agreement was made, but which is not being exploited;

5. clause 9 (1) (non-competition clause);

6. clause 9 (3) to the extent that it requires the licensee to pay royalties even if the licensee manufactures the products which are the subject matter of the agreement without making use of the licensor's patents.

Article 2

The application of Article 85 (3) is refused.

Article 3

The undertakings set out in Article 4 shall forthwith bring to an end the infringements referred to in Article 1.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to: 1. Mr Norbert Beyrard, Avenue Raphaël, 24 75016 Paris.

2. L'Association des Ouvriers en Instruments de Précision, S.A., Rue Charles Fourier, 8 75013 Paris.

Done at Brussels, 2 December 1975.

For the Commission

A. BORSCHETTE

Member of the Commission