Eu Distribution Law

Providing a detailed and practical analysis of the entire scope of the law relating to vertical agreements, including the new general block exemption regulations and the Vertical Guidelines, this book is an indispensible tool for all practitioners active in the drafting or reviewing of vertical agreements.

The new edition of EU Distribution Law, published six years after the previous edition, is concerned with the competition rules prohibiting anti-competitive agreements and behaviour affecting trade between Member States, and the special rules which protect commercial agents. Under EU law such anti-competitive agreements may be void and substantial fines imposed and liability in damages may result. To minimise their risk companies and their advisers must therefore understand the current rules and exemptions. In 2010 fully revised EU legislation and guidelines governing distribution and supply agreements came into effect. New features include an increased focus on powerful buyers and on internet sales, and there is also a more generous approach to resale price maintenance. [At the same time the special regime for the motor vehicle sector was significantly amended.] The European Commission, as well as national courts and competition authorities, actively apply EU competition rules in this area, so companies need to take the new rules fully into account. Furthermore, the continuing enlargement of the EU, most recently in 2007 to 27 Member States, and the ever-expanding case law of the European courts, means that EU law has an ever wider and more pronounced impact. This comprehensively rewritten and updated new edition of a well-known text combines expert commentary with clear, practical advice on the law affecting distribution agreements, exclusive supply, purchase agreements, franchising, agency and selective distribution. This book will be essential reading for commercial and competition lawyers, and the legal departments of manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and retailers currently trading or intending to trade within the European Union.

The legal issues surrounding the online distribution of content have recently gained prominence due to the European Commission’s commitment to the Digital Single Market (DSM). This book is one of the first to provide highly topical analysis of the key legal challenges surrounding the online distribution of content, with particular focus on intellectual property rights, competition law and the regulation of new technologies.

The revised EC policy on the application of competition law to vertical agreements is one of the most important developments in EC anti-trust for many years. The block exemption regulation, which came into effect on 1 June 2000, and the accompanying policy changes are crucially important for companies doing business in the European Union. Whichever route a business chooses to get its products to market, it needs to understand the impact of the EC rules. This guide provides a comprehensive and practical commentary on the new rules. The work contains the full text of the block exemption regulation, accompanying guidelines and other relevant Commission notices. Issues covered include: background to EC competition law and its application to vertical agreements; in-depth analysis of the provisions of the block exemption regulation; examination of how the rules apply to exclusive distribution; and selective distribution, franchising and agency agreements. The authoritative and in-depth analysis of the guide will be invaluable to in-house counsel, business people and practitioners involved in or advising on the distribution of goods or services in the EU.

This book examines the structure of the rule on restrictive agreements in the context of vertical intra-brand price and territorial restraints, analysing, comparing and evaluating their treatment in US antitrust and EU competition law. It examines the concept of 'agreement' as the threshold question of the rule on restrictive agreements, the structure and focus of antitrust/competition law analysis, the treatment of vertical intra-brand price and territorial restrictions and their place in the test of antitrust/competition law. The treatment of vertical intra-brand restraints is one of the most controversial issues of contemporary competition law and policy, and there are substantial differences between the world's two leading regimes in this regard. In the US, resale price fixing merits an effects-analysis, while in the EU it is prohibited almost outright. Likewise, territorial protection is treated laxly in the US, while in the EU absolute territorial protection - due to the single market imperative - is strictly prohibited. Using a novel approach of legal analysis, this book will be of interest to academics and scholars of business and commercial law, international and comparative law.

Vertical agreements between undertakings at the various levels of a supply chain have long been seen as a fundamental focus for antitrust legislation, such as the European Union’s Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER). It goes without saying that such issues are particularly prevalent in digital markets. This authoritative commentary analyses the main restrictions in vertical agreements, emphasising the numerous new and contentious issues arising in the context of Internet distribution. It offers both legal and economic perspectives, as well as examines enforcement and possible changes to the legislation. The contributors – leading competition authority officials, lawyers, economists, and academics – provide in-depth discussions of topics that have emerged as areas for conscious policy choices, including the following: restrictions of online sales; price parity obligations; resale price maintenance; the duration of non-compete obligations; sustainability agreements; geo-blocking practices; and restraint of trade in pharmaceuticals. The contributions have emerged from the 2020 conference of the Global Competition Law Centre at the College of Europe in the context of the currently ongoing review of the VBER and vertical guidelines. With its multidisciplinary approach highlighting the efficiencies and harms caused by the restrictions at stake, this important book clearly shows how law and practice apply to specific issues relating to digital markets and how the law is likely to change in the near future. It will be of immeasurable value to lawyers and officials concerned with European competition law and academics in the field.

This monograph, which was also designed as a short reference book for specialized undergraduate and graduate courses on EU law, intends to shed light on, and legally frame, the evolution of the doctrine of services of general economic interest (SGEIs). The book emphasizes the pivotal role played by SGEIs in striking a fair balance between market and social objectives. To this end, the book claims, first of all, that SGEIs have a dual nature inasmuch as they act as a limitation to/derogation from the free market and, simultaneously, as a value and positive obligation addressed at national authorities, undertakings, and EU institutions. The EU notions of access to public services and universal service are the clearest signal of such phenomenon. Secondly, the book claims that the transfer of competences from the Union to the Member States and the reaffirmation of Member States’ sovereignty in crucial sectors of the economy are not the only solutions to foster social rights. In fact, this narrative is apt to undermine the foundations, spirit, and purpose of the process of European integration, especially at a time like the present, when new forms of populism and anti-Europeanism are on the rise, and when a European response is imperative to counter the spread of the coronavirus in European countries. The book concludes that SGEIs’ regulation is an area of law where the EU institutions have generally successfully put into action and consolidated the social market economy principles on which the EU was founded. This is even further proof that the EU is not merely the reflection of interests linked to market completion, but also and foremost a ‘Community based on the rule of law’. The book will be a valuable resource for academics and researchers in EU Law, European Public Law and EU competition law.