• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]
Contact form
Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei

Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei

  • Deutsch

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • xing
  • Email
MENUMENU
  • Services
    • Advice On Protective IP Rights
    • Patent Application /TM Registration
    • Enforcement Of IP Rights
    • Defence Against IP Rights Enforcement
    • Costs
  • Company
    • Fields of Law
      • Patent Law
      • Utility Model Law
      • Employees’ Inventions
      • Trademark Law
      • Design Law
      • Trademark and Product Piracy
      • Expert Opinions
    • Our Law Firm
      • Dr. Karl-Hermann Meyer-Dulheuer
      • Dr. Tim Meyer-Dulheuer
      • Dr. Klaus Zimmermann
      • Zhichao Ying
      • Clara Elinor Grünewald
    • Commitment
  • Contact
    • Where To Find Us
    • Write us!
    • Request call back
  • Blog

Coty Germany victorious: No sale of luxury perfume via Amazon

13. July 2018

Retailers may be prohibited from selling luxury goods via online trading platforms. The Frankfurt Higher District Court ruled in favour of Coty Germany GmbH yesterday.

The focus of the dispute is an amendment to the distribution agreements of 2012, which means that authorised dealers are entitled to offer and sell contract goods on the Internet. However, the distribution agreements stipulate that this only applies on condition that the luxury character of the products is maintained. The identifiable involvement of a third party company that is not an authorized retailer is expressly prohibited. This amended clause did not sign the defendant perfumery accents. Therefore Coty Germany sued against this authorized dealer before the Higher District Court of Frankfurt (OLG). The perfumery Akzente should be prevented from selling contract goods via the amazon.de trading platform.

The OLG initially submitted questions on European competition law to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in its decision of 19 April 2016. This was answered by the ECJ in its judgment of 06.12.2017 (C-230/16) – we reported. On the basis of the ECJ’s interpretation guidelines, the OLG Frankfurt came to the conclusion that the plaintiff could demand that the defendant not sell the disputed branded products via “amazon.de”. Pure advertising cooperations in which the customer is directed to the defendant’s Internet shop are, however, not covered and continue to be permissible.

Selective distribution system

The OLG clarified that the additional Internet agreement is part of a so-called qualitative selective distribution system maintained by the applicant. According to the case law of the ECJ, qualitative selective distribution agreements are allowed “if the resellers are selected on the basis of objective qualitative criteria which are defined uniformly… and applied without discrimination, if the characteristics of the product in question require such a distribution network in order to maintain its quality… and provided that the criteria laid down do not ultimately go beyond what is necessary”.

In the referral procedure, the ECJ made it clear that “the establishment of a selective distribution system can also be justified by ensuring the luxury image of goods whose quality is not based solely on their material characteristics, but also on their prestige character, which gives them luxurious features”. In order “to preserve the quality of luxury goods in view of their characteristics and nature”, the establishment of a selective distribution system may therefore also be necessary to ensure a high-quality type of presentation. The branded products to be assessed here have a luxury image. This would be endangered if third-party companies such as “amazon.de” were freely authorised to do so.

It was only doubtful whether the prohibition of any “sales cooperation with another externally recognisable third platform, regardless of its concrete form, was in proportion to the desired goal”. Contractual clauses for Internet distribution are also conceivable, which do not interfere so much with the freedom of competition of the retailer. Ultimately, however, the ECJ had already affirmed proportionality with regard to this specific clause.

The OLG Frankfurt had appealed to the ECJ to clarify whether the ban desired by Coty was compatible with EU competition law. Selective selling systems must also be examined with regard to antitrust law (Art. 101 (1) TFEU). And that is the selective system of Coty Germany. The ECJ had made it clear in its judgement that Coty Germany’s selective system did not violate EU competition law.

The judgement is not final. The defendant may lodge a non-admission complaint before the Federal Supreme Court for the appeal to be admitted.

Do you look for brand protection?

Please take your chance and contact us. Our lawyers are experienced in trademark and patent law, national and international law.

 

Sources:

Pictures:

domeckopol /pixabay.com / CCO License  

 

  • share  
  • share 
  • share 
  • tweet  
  • share 

Category iconInternational Intellectual Property,  Product- and Trademark piracy,  Overall Tag iconAmazon,  Coty Germany,  selective distribution,  online-sale,  luxury,  luxury perfume,  competetion law,  selective system,  OLG Frankfurt,  ECJ

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More articles about: International Intellectual Property

All articles

Blog Menu

  • Design Law
  • Healthcare & Lifesciences
  • International Intellectual Property
  • Licenses
  • News from our law firm
  • Overall
  • Patent Law
  • Product- and Trademark piracy
  • Trademark Law
This form uses Google Recaptcha.

You must accept cookies from Google recaptcha to use this form.

More information can be found in our privacy policy.

load form

Recent Posts

  • Own trademark application fails – despite comparable trademarks: Equal treatment? 5. March 2021
  • Intel to pay 2.2 billion in damages – to VLSI / Fortress Investment 5. March 2021
  • BGH “FRAND II” – SEP Licensing as Distributor? 2. March 2021
  • Suspension of infringement proceedings 1. March 2021

Fields of Law

  • Patent Law
  • Utility Model Law
  • Employees’ Inventions
  • Trademark Law
  • Design Law
  • Trademark and Product Piracy
  • Expert Opinions
  • Costs

Das könnte Sie auch interessieren:

5. March 2021
Intel to pay 2.2 billion in damages – to VLSI / Fortress Investment

Intel to pay 2.2 billion in damages – to VLSI / Fortress Investment

5. February 2021
Trade secret: what are ‘appropriate’ secrecy measures?

Trade secret: what are ‘appropriate’ secrecy measures?

29. January 2021
Brexit: Changes for UK patent attorneys in GER

Brexit: Changes for UK patent attorneys in GER

29. January 2021
Brexit: UK Patentanwälte ohne Vertretungsbefugnis in DE

Brexit: UK Patentanwälte ohne Vertretungsbefugnis in DE

28. January 2021
ECJ and Qualcomm: Necessity of the information requested

ECJ and Qualcomm: Necessity of the information requested

25. January 2021
Thermomix infringement by Lidl: Will Monsieur Cuisine still exist?

Thermomix infringement by Lidl: Will Monsieur Cuisine still exist?

Footer

Contact

Franklinstr. 61-63
D-60486 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 199
[email protected]

Customer Reviews

Meyer-Dulheuer MD Legal Patentanwälte PartG mbB Patentrecht, Markenrecht, Eigentum hat 4,78 von 5 Sternen 23 Bewertungen auf ProvenExpert.com

Fields of Law

  • Patent Law
  • Utility Model Law
  • Employees’ Inventions
  • Trademark Law
  • Design Law
  • Trademark and Product Piracy
  • Expert Opinions
  • Costs

Law Firm

  • Request non-binding call back
  • Info secure emails
  • Company
  • Our Law Firm
  • ISO Certificate
  • Privacy Policy
  • Data handling for clients
  • Imprint

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • xing
  • Email

Newsletter Signup

This form uses Google Recaptcha.

You must accept cookies from Google recaptcha to use this form.

More information can be found in our privacy policy.

load form

© Patent- & Rechtsanwaltskanzlei Meyer-Dulheuer MD Legal Patentanwälte PartG mbB

Kontaktformular

 

Rufen Sie uns an, schicken Sie uns eine Mail oder füllen Sie das Kontaktformular aus.

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]

This form uses Google Recaptcha.

You must accept cookies from Google recaptcha to use this form.

More information can be found in our privacy policy.

load form

Contact Form

 

Give us a call, send us an email or fill out the contact form.

+49 (0) 69 / 606 278 – 0
[email protected]

This form uses Google Recaptcha.

You must accept cookies from Google recaptcha to use this form.

More information can be found in our privacy policy.

load form