Collaboration between businesses
Collaborating with others who have a different type of expertise than your business can contribute to development and growth. The purpose of a collaboration can, for example, be innovation, to exploit each other's expertise, or to increase competitiveness.
The possibility of cooperation between undertakings must be assessed in the light of the limits set by competition law(cooperation that restricts competition is, however, prohibited). Furthermore, it is important to clarify and protect the rights that you may bring into the collaboration. How the cooperation should be organised should also be considered.
Organize collaboration
The collaboration can be linked to individual projects or more permanent collaborations over time. An individual project can be linked to a product or tender for a specific assignment. A collaboration on individual projects will normally be based on an agreement between the collaborating enterprises. To ensure the best possible agreement that safeguards the parties' interests, it is of course recommended that a lawyer or other advisors with expertise in the area are used.
In the case of a permanent collaboration, it may be appropriate to establish a separate business for this. Both private limited companies and co-operatives can be suitable forms of organisation for organising such cooperation. Private limited companies and co-operatives have many similarities, but one significant difference is that the purpose of the co-operative is to promote the economic interests of its members through, for example, cooperation. You can read more about the different forms of organization here.
Competition law
The purpose of the Competition Act is to promote competition between businesses and contribute to the efficient use of society's resources. Agreements or conduct that restrict competition in the market are generally prohibited. In the assessment of whether a collaboration is legal or not, it will be a key factor whether the collaboration takes place between actual or potential competitors. Cooperation between companies that are not competitors will normally be legal.
It is the companies' own responsibility to assess whether any cooperation may restrict competition. Examples of cooperation that may be illegal are agreements or other coordination between actual or potential competitors on prices, joint bids in tender competitions (if one or both parties to the cooperation are able to submit the tender on their own, the cooperation is generally illegal), market sharing and restrictions on production or sales.
As a general rule, the prohibition means that competitors are not allowed to cooperate, for example by submitting a joint bid in a tender competition. On the Norwegian Competition Authority’s website, you can read more about when project collaboration between companies may be permitted.
The Competition law (in Norwegian only)
The Norwegian Competition Authority – The Competition Rules in 1-2-3 (in Norwegian only)
The Norwegian Competition Authority - guide to project cooperation (in Norwegian only)
How to find potential partners?
Many collaborations grow out of the companies' knowledge of each other, but this is not always the case. If the company is looking for partners, it may be sensible to contact the municipal guidance system for assistance. They often have an overview of the local business community.
Innovation Norway will also be able to assist in the work of finding relevant partners both regionally and nationally.
Innovation Norway on cooperation, clusters, and networks (in Norwegian only)
One source of information about the business community and partners is open data at the Brønnøysund Register Centre. Here you can, for example, search for a specific industry code and get an overview of all businesses that operate under this industry code. The search can also be limited geographically if desired.
The Brønnøysund Register Centre - Open data (in Norwegian only)
Protecting rights
If the collaboration consists of developing a new or existing product, it will be important to clarify in advance who has the rights to the final product and how these rights are to be secured. It is also important to clarify questions about rights and/or secure rights to products that you bring into the collaboration. These clarifications should be made in a cooperation agreement. At the NIPO, you can apply for protection of trademarks, patents and designs.
