Competition Act 1998: Primary UK legislation governing competition law, prohibiting anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant market position. Essential for ensuring exclusivity agreements don't breach competition regulations.
Enterprise Act 2002: Provides framework for UK market regulation and competition law enforcement, including merger control provisions that may affect exclusivity arrangements.
Article 101 TFEU (retained EU law): Retained EU law prohibiting anti-competitive agreements. Still relevant for UK businesses post-Brexit, especially for agreements affecting trade with EU members.
Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Regulation (VABER): Provides safe harbor for certain vertical agreements, including exclusivity arrangements that meet specific criteria regarding market share and restrictions.
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977: Regulates unfair terms in business contracts, particularly important for limitation of liability and indemnity provisions in exclusivity agreements.
Consumer Rights Act 2015: Relevant if the exclusivity agreement affects consumer transactions, ensuring consumer protection requirements are met.
Trade Marks Act 1994: Governs trademark protection and licensing, crucial for product exclusivity agreements involving branded goods.
Patents Act 1977: Essential for exclusivity agreements involving patented products or technologies, governing patent rights and licensing.
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988: Protects intellectual property rights in designs and creative works, relevant for product design and associated materials.
Sale of Goods Act 1979: Sets out basic legal framework for sale of goods, including quality standards and implied terms that may affect product exclusivity.
Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982: Governs contracts for supply of goods and services, relevant for service elements of product exclusivity agreements.
UK GDPR: Data protection regulation governing handling of personal data, relevant if agreement involves customer data processing.
Data Protection Act 2018: UK's implementation of data protection requirements, working alongside UK GDPR.
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008: Prohibits unfair commercial practices, relevant if exclusivity arrangement affects consumer market.
Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013: Governs distance selling and off-premises contracts, important if exclusivity agreement affects direct-to-consumer sales.
