The Commission has released draft Guidelines on the Application of Competition Law to Intellectual Property Rights, and is seeking submissions from interested parties.

The Commerce Act 1986 (Act) currently exempts certain conduct in relation to intellectual property from being assessed as anti-competitive and in breach of the Act.

From 5 April 2023, these exemptions will be removed, and all conduct relating to intellectual property will be capable of breaching the Act. 

To assist businesses to better understand the application of competition law to intellectual property rights, we have drafted Guidelines (draft Guidelines) that explain how the Commission assesses conduct relating to intellectual property under the Act. We are doing this to help businesses and other parties dealing with intellectual property rights to assess whether their conduct complies with the Act.     

We are issuing the draft Guidelines for public consultation. We are keen to receive feedback and submissions on the draft.

A copy of the draft Guidelines, and further information on the consultation process and how to make a submission, can be found on our website. We are mindful that this consultation is occurring over the holiday period, so we have allowed a longer than usual consultation period. The deadline for submissions on the draft Guidelines is 10 February 2023.