Commission Guidelines On Vertical Agreements

05 Déc Commission Guidelines On Vertical Agreements

The VBER and its guidelines expire on May 31, 2022. The EC conducted a two-year evaluation to determine whether the VBER and guidelines should be completed, renewed or revised by gathering evidence from a variety of sources, including public consultation, targeted consultation with national competition authorities, a stakeholder workshop and an external evaluation study. The EC also gathered evidence from the results of its investigation into the imkund economy sector, launched in May 2015 and closed in May 2017. In addition, in recent years, the EC has gained knowledge through its own experience in implementing vertical restrictions. According to the guidelines, most franchise agreements meet these conditions, as the franchisor makes contractual goods or services available to the franchisee and intellectual property rights assist the franchisee in reselling them. Typically, the franchisor also provides commercial or technical assistance to the franchisee (for example. B procurement services, training and financial planning). The Commission also notes that franchise agreements that include a licence for intellectual property rights may be covered by the category exemption if the licence is not the main purpose of the agreement, and conversely, that franchise agreements that only involve the granting of intellectual property rights are not covered by the category exemption. , but individual cases are treated in a similar way.

It is only in cases of exclusive delivery (for the EC as a whole) that the buyer`s market share is decisive and that only the buyer`s market share and not the supplier`s market share under the category exemption regulation must be taken into account. If the buyer uses the goods or services delivered during the manufacture of the final product, his market is relevant to that final product. In addition, it is expected that, in franchising agreements, the market share of the licensee must be taken into account not only as a supplier of goods or services, but also as a supplier of a sales concept. The evolution of the market and, in particular, the growth of online distribution and online platforms, which have changed the nature of the way companies supply and distribute goods and services, are of great importance for the EC`s assessment. This transition to a digital economy has led to several problems in the operation of the VBER and makes it increasingly difficult for companies to evaluate their own vertical agreements with confidence. The Vice-President of the Executive for Competition Policy, Margrethe Vestager, has recognised the need to adapt the rules so that they remain appropriate in a rapidly changing digital world 5, which will certainly present a challenge for the EC in revising the rules. The evaluation also indicates that, since the adoption of the VBER, judicial and enforcement practices relating to certain vertical agreements and related restrictions have developed considerably. We can expect the VB and vertical directives to be updated to reflect EU jurisprudence on this issue. With regard to selective distribution agreements, for example, a number of important judgments have been issued, including: for the first time, the Commission`s enforcement policy on such agreements is both detailed and practical.