Agency, distribution and franchising

This subtopic contains guidance on EU level rules relating to agency, distribution and franchising, the application of EU competition law to vertical agreements and the proposed EU Late Payment Regulation.

Agency

Agency is an arrangement under which a principal appoints an agent to act at its direction for specified purposes. In business, agents are commonly appointed for the purposes of introducing and concluding agreements with new customers, marketing or customer support. Agency law thus deals with the relationships between:

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principal and agent
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agent and third party, and
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principal and third party

In many cases, an agent in business will be a commercial agent within Council Directive 86/653/EEC, the EU Commercial Agents Directive. Where this directive applies, it imposes various terms on the relationship between principal and commercial agent, many of which the parties may not exclude by contract.

Practice Note: The EU Commercial Agents Directive covers the definition of a commercial agent, the scope and application of the EU Commercial Agents Directive and the impact of the EU Commercial Agents Directive upon the agency contracts. It also considers the relationship

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