SAUDI ARABIA: Draft new Saudi Commercial Distribution & Agency Agreements Law.

Following the issuance of the Saudi Franchise Regulations by Royal Decree M/22 of 9/2/1441H. on 25 October 2019, the Saudi government is preparing a new law on commercial distribution and agency contracts; a draft of the law, which will, for the first time, contain provisions on the contractual relationship between the parties, was recently published […]

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CHINA: New revisions of Anti-Monopoly Law.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress has issued recently the decision of amending the Anti-Monopoly Law of the People’s Republic of China (AML Amendment), effective from August 1, 2022.   Key takeaway The AML Amendment introduces the “safe harbour” rule to make the conditions concerning the fixation of price less restrictive. If companies […]

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UKRAINE: Calculation of royalties under franchise agreements in Ukraine – recent case law.

Factual background  Double F Group LLC (franchisor) has concluded a franchise agreement with a private entrepreneur Mrs Mostova (franchisee). Under the franchise agreement, the franchisor has granted the franchisee a set of intellectual property rights, including the trademark “Cheese Kingdom”, for developing a cheese shop within the franchisor’s chain. The franchise agreement has set out […]

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CANADA: The new Canadian trademarks regime presents a host of opportunities and challenges.

The initial success of every foodservice-and-hospitality business begins with product offerings and services that resonate with its target audience. Eventually, its growth and rates of expansion become very dependent on its marketing and branding strategies. For a franchisor or any business thinking about franchising, having a protected name and protected logo(s) is a fundamental requirement. […]

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CHINA: New judicial interpretation concerning agency.

The Supreme People’s Court has issued recently the Interpretation on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the General Principles of the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China (Interpretation), effective from March 1, 2022.   Key takeaway The Interpretation mainly specifies the legal effect of violating rules related to joint agency, and the conditions […]

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FRANCE: The revision of the Motor Vehicle Regulation and its Guidelines is progressing rapidly with some good news but also a lot of conservatism and a risk of additional constraints.

The European Commission launched on Wednesday 6 July a public consultation and call for contributions inviting all interested parties to comment on its proposals for the future of the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation. The Commission is consulting until 30 September 2022 on a draft regulation extending the validity of the automotive mini-regulation for 5 […]

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AUSTRALIA: Recent Australian Federal Court decision – anti-competitive exclusive dealing.

Australasian Food Group, trading as Peters Ice Cream (Peters), has recently admitted to engaging in exclusive dealing in contravention of section 47 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA). The Federal Court ordered Peters to pay a A$12 million penalty and implement a three year competition law compliance program, following enforcement action taken by the Australian […]

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UK: Dwyer (UK Franchising) Limited v Fredbar Limited and Shaun Rowland Bartlett [2022] EWCA Civ 889.

It has been well established for thirty years that post termination non compete covenants in franchise agreements will be upheld by the English courts as reasonable if they go no further than is necessary to protect the franchisor’s goodwill. The courts have, historically, based their approach in establishing the reasonableness of such covenants on how […]

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NORWAY: The definition of a commercial agent – part IV – The judgement from the Norwegian Supreme Court.

1 Background In previous articles I have presented the ongoing Norep-case, wherein the Norwegian Appeal Court ruled that Norep AS (Norep) was not entitled to indemnity in accordance with the Agency Act as it found that Norep did not qualify as an agent based on the definition of “agent” in the act. The conclusion of […]

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BRAZIL: Franchising in Brazil.

In Brazil, the basic regulation applicable to franchise agreements was Law no. 8,955 of December 15, 1994 and the general provisions of contracts in the Brazilian Civil Code (Law no. 10,406 of January 10, 2002). On December 26, 2019, the Bill Project no. 219/2015 was enacted into the Law no.13,966/19 (“the New Franchise Law”) and […]

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