The applicant sold ice cream. Retailers were supplied with freezer cabinets at low or nil cost, but the cabinets were only to include the claimant’s goods. In practice this excluded other manufacturer’s products from shops. The commission found that this restrictive effect resulted from the limitations on space in shops, and affected some 83% of shops.
Held: The contractual restrictions had to be judged not only on their strict legal form, but also on their practical effect. The result in this case was to distort competition. This was evidenced by the fact that shops did include other products whenever they had the chance. No exemption was to be granted.
Citations:
T-65/98, Times 07-Nov-2003
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
European
Commercial
Updated: 24 November 2022; Ref: scu.187351