Draft guidelines on the repeal of subsection 51(3) of the CCA

Overview

The ACCC seeks your views on its draft guidelines about the repeal of subsection 51(3) of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) (CCA).

Prior to its repeal, subsection 51(3) of the CCA provided a limited exemption for some intellectual property-related conduct from some anti-competitive conduct prohibitions in Part IV of the CCA. On 13 September 2019, this exemption will cease to apply.

Following the repeal of subsection 51(3), conduct involving intellectual property rights will be subject to the anti-competitive conduct prohibitions in Part IV of the CCA in the same manner as all other conduct.

The draft guidelines set out the ACCC's current understanding and interpretation of the law. They are for the general guidance of intellectual property rightsholders, legal practitioners, and business advisors, and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice.

The ACCC invites you to have your say on the approach set out in these draft guidelines. Submissions will be open until 19 July 2019.

Confidentiality

Submissions may be published on the ACCC website at the end of the consultation period.

Any information that you believe to be of a confidential nature should be clearly marked or identified as confidential.

The ACCC will not disclose confidential information to third parties, other than advisors or consultants engaged directly by the ACCC, without first providing you with notice of its intention to do so, such as where it is compelled to do so by law.

What happens next

Thank you for your feedback on the ACCC's draft guidelines about the repeal of subsection 51(3) of the CCA.

The consultation period has now closed, and we are considering the feedback we have received.

We will publish final guidelines in August 2019.