The Boardroom Brief Thursday, November 12, 2026 · Maverick · 3-minute read |
The License. |
London just told licensors how to stay inside the safe harbor that has been in force since May. |
Good morning. Britain's competition authority published the map of a safe harbor that has been on the books since May. If you license software, patents, or know-how into or out of the UK, has counsel already put those contracts against this guidance? I read every reply. |
Today in 30 seconds | ▪ | London: the CMA published final guidance on the technology-transfer block exemption, in force since 1 May 2026. |
| ▪ | Brussels: a short consultation is open on draft DSA rules for AI and elections. |
| ▪ | Frankfurt: Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, and the savings banks are forming a fraud-intel joint venture. |
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The Move If you license technology into or out of Britain, the CMA has now written down how it will read those deals under the May 2026 block exemption. Ask counsel to map material inbound and outbound patent, software, and know-how licenses against the share caps and the hardcore list, and identify any pre-May agreement still sitting under the assimilated EU rules. The transition for those ends on 30 April 2027. The harbor is only as wide as the clauses you kept out of the contract. |
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01 · Competition · United Kingdom CMA maps the safe harbor for tech licensesOn 10 November the Competition and Markets Authority published final guidance on the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Order, which came into force on 1 May 2026. Qualifying licenses of patents, know-how, design rights, and software get an automatic exemption from the Chapter I prohibition if they stay within the market-share caps and avoid hardcore restrictions. Why it matters: This is the map, not a new statute. Boards with UK licensing programs should have counsel read the contracts against it before the 30 April 2027 transition for pre-existing agreements runs out. Source: GOV.UK / CMA |
02 · Platforms · European Union Brussels consults on AI and election risk for platformsThe European Commission opened a consultation, dated 10 November and closing 23 November 2026, on draft revisions to its DSA election guidelines for very large platforms and search engines. The draft calls for deepfake labels, tests of recommender systems before national elections, and a report to the Commission and national authorities within 30 days of a vote. The first guidelines were adopted in April 2024. Why it matters: This is a draft, not a final rule. Platforms, and companies that rely on them in a campaign season, have until 23 November to put experience on the record. Source: European Commission |
03 · Banking · Germany German banks form a joint venture to share fraud signalsIn an 11 November release from Frankfurt, Commerzbank, Deutsche Bank, and the German Savings Banks Association said they are establishing a joint venture so financial institutions can share fraud information on a data-protection-compliant basis. The first use case covers phishing, investment and merchandise fraud, and love scams, using multi-party computation so banks can compare signals without handing over all of the underlying data. Why it matters: Each bank still decides what to do with a signal. The venture wants other institutions as customers, which is the part boards should watch. Source: Deutsche Bank |
History rhymes 1995: Washington wrote the licensing playbookOn 6 April 1995 the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission issued Antitrust Guidelines for the Licensing of Intellectual Property. They treated licenses as ordinary contracts that can help competition, and they told companies when a deal would draw a challenge. London's new guidance does that job for a British block exemption that has been in force since May. |
Put these to management | 1. | Which of our inbound and outbound UK licenses would lose the block exemption if a share cap or a hardcore clause is tripped? |
| 2. | Which pre-May 2026 agreements are we still treating as exempt under the assimilated EU rules, and what happens when that transition ends on 30 April 2027? |
| 3. | If we operate a very large platform, or we buy ads on one, who owns the response to the DSA election consultation before 23 November? |
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From the archive: The Clause. The GSA put a safeguarding clause on the language models it buys. Read it beside today's licensing map. |
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