Distribution Agreements under EC Comptetition Law: An Analytical Review

Distribution agreements play a key role in any economy, and they were also one of the first aspects to be addressed under EC competition law. This book reviews the legal framework that governs these vertical agreements under EC competition law and draws a path for the mandatory self-assessment of their distribution agreements that companies in Europe have to carry out.
The competition rules that are particularly taken into account are Article 81 of the EC Treaty, the Commission’s Block Exemption Regulation for Vertical Agreements (Regulation 2790/99), the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (Regulation 1400/2002), the Community Courts’ extensive and authoritative case law on distribution agreements, the Commission’s decision practice, and the various Commission notices and guidelines (e.g., De Minimis notice, Guidelines on Vertical Restraints). A critical review of the status quo of EC distribution law addresses pivotal topics such as market analysis, distribution via the internet, and damages actions for breach of EC distribution law.