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New Guidance Note: Commercial and Legal Aspects

December 2019

Agents and Agency

The topic of agency is relevant in numerous commercial circumstances but often the word “agent” means different things to different people and there is scope for confusion, especially when trying to decide what legal regulation applies to a particular type of agent. Therefore, this month a new guidance note, about agency generally, has been added to the Agency, Distribution and Franchise Agreements subfolder.

Extending your sales channels by engaging agents is one of the various ways in which a business can expand, and it is often a quicker and less expensive method than others. Agents can also be appointed to carry out functions apart from selling goods, i.e. they can be engaged to carry out a variety of different functions for a business.

Sales Agents and Commercial Agents

As well as providing broad coverage of the topic of agency, the Guidance Note: Sales Agents and Other Types of Agent explains key points about sales agents and commercial agents, and the commercial and legal meaning of “sales agent”, “commercial agent”, “agent”, “agency”, “principal”, “exclusivity” and other terminology commonly used in the business world. It also outlines how commercial agency is governed by the Commercial Agents (Council Directive) Regulations 1993.

Other Types of Agent

This new guidance also covers other types of agency, such as commission and marketing. It also explains the distinction between agents and other types of intermediary, including sales representatives, distributors and franchisees.

The guidance note includes links to the various template documents on the website. These templates relate to various types of agents and other intermediaries. The documents comprise full agreement templates as well as forms of MOU (Heads of Terms) documents.

The contents of this Newsletter are for reference purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Independent legal advice should be sought in relation to any specific legal matter.

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