Marketplaces Restrictions and Selective Distribution after Coty Germany

• Authors: Szot Patrycja , Amza Anna
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

This article discusses the framework of selective distribution agreements within EU competition law following the Coty Germany case and the EU Commission’s 2017 E-commerce report. It argues that the judgment removed, in essence, the limitation of sales via online platforms from the ‘by object box’. In respect of luxury goods, the ban is considered not to infringe competition law at all. In this context, the article addresses one of the judgment’s key points: what constitutes a ‘luxury good’ and evaluates to what an extent this definition can be practically applied. The authors also embark on the conditions under which the restriction is considered proportionate (when applied to non-luxury goods) and point to the risk of divergent interpretations of platform bans across member states. To illustrate the latter, several examples are given from national case-law. The considerations are completed with a brief look at problematic restrictions on the use of price comparison tools.

FR

Cet article traite de la distribution sélective dans le cadre de la législation européenne sur la concurrence suite au jugement Coty Germany et au rapport de la Commission Européenne sur le e-commerce datant de 2017. De l’avis des auteurs, ce jugement a exclu de la catégorie «restrictions par objet» la limitation des ventes sur des plateformes tierces. Par contre, en ce qui concerne les produits de luxe, cette restriction n’est pas considérée comme une violation du droit de la concurrence. Dans ce contexte, l’article aborde l’un des points clés du jugement: la définition legale d’un produit de luxe, et évalue dans quelle mesure cette définition est applicable en pratique. Les auteurs s’intéressent également aux conditions sous lesquelles la restriction des ventes sur des plateformes tierces (pour les produits non luxueux) est considérée proportionnée et soulignent le risque d’interprétations divergentes au sein des états membres. Pour illustrer ce point, plusieurs exemples tirés de la jurisprudence nationale sont donnés. L’article aborde enfin brièvement les problèmes de restrictions relatives aux comparateurs de prix en ligne.

Keywords

EN

Coty; platform ban; selective distribution; distribution of luxury goods; distribution of branded goods; restriction of online sales; e-commerce; restriction on passive sales; price comparison tools; marketplace restriction

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Warszawski. Wydział Nauk Ekonomicznych
• Journal: Yearbook of Antitrust and Regulatory Studies
• Year: 2018
• Volume: 11(18)
• Pages: 241-284

Dates

published

2018-12-30

Contributors

author

Szot Patrycja

author

Amza Anna

References

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Identifiers

DOI

10.7172/1689-9024.YARS.2018.11.18.10