This Glossary matches the list of keywords used by Concurrences search engine. Each keyword is automatically updated by the most recent EU and national case laws from the e-Competitions Bulletin and Concurrences Review. The definitions are excerpt from DG COMP’s Glossary of terms used in EU competition policy (© European Union, 2002) and the OECD’s Glossary of industrial organisation economics and competition law (© OECD, 1993).

Sudden break of established business relationships

See definition in French.

Related EU and national case law

US State Attorney General New York The US State of New York Attorney General (AG) leads a bipartisan lawsuit by 46 State AGs, District of Columbia AG, and Territory of Guam AG seeking to end the dominant social network company’s allegedly illegal monopoly, including predatory acquisitions and reduction of privacy protections for consumers (US State AGs / Facebook)

9 December 2020

Attorney General James Leads Multistate Lawsuit Seeking to End Facebook’s Illegal Monopoly* AG James Leads Bipartisan Coalition of 48 Attorneys General Charging Anticompetitive Conduct Facebook Thwarted Competition, Reduced Consumer Privacy for Profits New York Attorney General Letitia James (...)

Virginie Beaumeunier, Pierre Chambu, Anne-Sophie Choné-Grimaldi, Nathalie Dostert, Alexandre Lacresse, Richard Panquiault, Philippe Vanni, Daniel Fasquelle, Irène Luc Distribution, competition and unfair practices #2 : Trade negotiations, Significant imbalance & Closing discussion

18 November 2020

2nd Webinar of the « 1st Distribution, competition & restrictive practices Conference » organised by Concurrences, in partnership with Fidal. Panel with Pierre Chambu (Chef de service de la protection des consommateurs et de la régulation des marchés, DGCCRF), Anne-Sophie Choné-Grimaldi (Professor, Paris Nanterre University), Nathalie Dostert (Vice President, Paris Commercial Court), Richard Panquiault (Director General, Institut de liaison des entreprises de consommation - ILEC) and Philippe Vanni (Head of Distribution/Competition Practice - Partner, Fidal).
Closing discussion with Virginie Beaumeunier (Director General, DGCCRF), Daniel Fasquelle (Professor, University of Littoral-Côte-d’Opale | Senior Counsel, Squadra Avocats | Former member of the French Parliament), Irène Luc (Vice President, Autorité de la concurrence) and Alexandre Lacresse (Partner, Fidal).

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden termination: The Paris Court of Appeal examines a sudden break of a « gérance-mandat » relationship (Gifi Mag / IDF Management)

16 September 2020

Background. One recalls the divergent interpretation, between the Paris Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation, of the scope of article L. 146-4 C. com, which provides for a termination indemnity where the principal is at the origin of the termination of the contract. Because the former (...)

Nicolas Éréséo Significant imbalance: The Paris Court of Appeal refuses to sanction the significant imbalance between the rights and obligations of the parties in the absence of any evidence of a submission (Davyco / ITM Alimentaire International)

3 September 2020

Faits. Un fournisseur spécialisé dans la confection d’articles de bonneterie et de sous-vêtements fabriqués en Asie conclut plusieurs contrats avec une centrale d’achat à partir de 2001. Après avoir constaté une baisse significative des commandes à compter de l’année 2011 consécutive à la mise en place (...)

Jean-Michel Vertut Specialized courts: The Paris Tribunal of Commerce as specialized jurisdiction, declines its jurisdiction due to a jurisdiction clause in favour of the Nanterre’s Tribunal of Commerce, despite arguments of restrictive practices (Canal Plus / Technicolor Delivery Technologies)

1 September 2020

Facts. Following a call for tenders, Canal+ Group (hereinafter "Canal") selected Technicolor Delivery Technologies (hereinafter "Technicolor") in December 2016 as the supplier of its new "G9" set-top boxes. These two companies signed a letter of intent setting out the terms and conditions for (...)

Lucas Bettoni COVID-19: The CEPC invites the actors of the food supply chain to dialogue and to search for amicable solutions to overcome the difficulties linked to the COVID-19 pandemic

20 July 2020

While trade negotiations for the establishment of the 2021 agreements are already under way, the CEPC has posted a recommendation on its website which aims to "guide the professionals concerned in the possible difficulties of applying current contracts due to the health crisis and its (...)

Valérie Durand Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court specifies the rules of prescription applicable to the sudden termination of commercial relations (Hamel / Établissement Denis)

8 July 2020

Following a dispute concerning a disturbance on a structure, the company Établissement Denis has terminated its commercial relations with the company Hamel, the termination having been notified by a letter dated September 2, 2009. In a first dispute, the latter made a counterclaim for (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden termination: The Court of appeal of Paris admits a business relationship without direct commercial consideration (Hotel Trianon de Versailles / Multiservices Transports D.)

8 July 2020

Facts. While the company Hôtel Trianon de Versailles has been using the services of a chauffeur-driven car rental company to transport its clients for the past 13 years, it cancels by e-mail the three trips scheduled for the following weeks and definitively ceases to solicit this rental company. (...)

Nicolas Éréséo Franchise: The Paris Court of Appeal rules that the franchisor can legally force the franchisee to repaint his store after the relationship is terminated (Hypromat / Aulnoy Lavage)

1 July 2020

When a franchisee leaves the network, the franchisor generally forces the franchisee to give up anything that may recall the know-how and distinctive signs previously exploited. The present case falls within this framework and concerns an original stipulation which has the effect of forcing the (...)

Anne-Cécile Martin Selective distribution: The Paris Court of Appeal rules once again on the lawfulness of the refusal of approval of a car distributor under antitrust law and confirms the "absorption" of qualitative selection criteria by quantitative criteria (Safirauto / Hyundai Motor France)

24 June 2020

The dispute over the legality of refusing to approve distributors within selective distribution networks is not drying up, as shown by an interesting decision handed down on 24 June 2020 by the Paris Court of Appeal. The facts of this case are classic. The promoter of a selective distribution (...)

Philippe Vanni Exclusive distribution: The Paris Court of Appeal holds that the continuation of a commercial relationship, after the non-renewal of an exclusive distribution contract, is not governed by the terms of the non-renewed contract, which include the distributor’s exclusive supply obligation (CMS Dental / Septodont)

24 June 2020

In the area of exclusive distribution, this quarter saw an interesting decision handed down by the Paris Court of Appeals, reminding us of the importance of carefully anticipating the end of the contract and the end of the resulting exclusivity commitment. Since 1 June 1995, one supplier had (...)

Mary-Claude Mitchell Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court confirms that the loss of the distributor’s exclusivity, as provided for in the contract and compensated by the reciprocal and concomitant abandonment by the author of the breach of the rights which are the counterpart of the breach, does not constitute a substantial modification of the performance of the notice period (SBA / AGCO)

24 June 2020

It is well known that the notice period granted in the event of termination of commercial relations must be carried out under the same conditions as those prevailing during the course of the contract (see for example Cass com, 10 February 2015, No. 13-26414). The decision of the Court of (...)

Valérie Durand Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court reiterates the methods of compensation for damages resulting from the sudden termination of an established commercial relationship (Caisse fédérale du crédit mutuel Centre Est Europe / Offre et demande agricole)

24 June 2020

It’s a very simple case. Since 1999, various agreements have been concluded between ODA, which provides training and consultancy services in the marketing of agricultural raw materials, on the one hand, and the National Confederation of Mutual Credit (CNCM) and three Swiss Federal Credit Unions (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden termination: The Paris Court of Appeal indirectly admits the impact of the retraining of the victim of a brutal termination in the evaluation of their prejudice (Claas France / Établissements H. B. et fils)

17 June 2020

The facts. Claas, an importer of equipment, particularly agricultural equipment, has been in contact since 2004 with a seller-repairer of the same type of equipment. Since that relationship was formed after the importer took over the management lease of the business of Renault Agriculture, (...)

Valérie Durand Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court reiterates that the termination of a commercial relationship without prior notice requires the establishment of a sufficiently serious breach of contract (SETNAG / Tecora)

10 June 2020

If the former article L. 442-6, I, 5° C. com. - applicable to the case - provided for the possibility of termination without notice, this possibility remained subject to the occurrence of special circumstances. These circumstances included force majeure and breach of contract. In order to (...)

Frédéric Buy Sudden termination: The International Commercial Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal rules that Article L. 442-6, I, 5° of the Commercial Code does not override mandatory provisions (Sodmilab / Waters)

3 June 2020

Conflict of doctrines at the Paris Court of Appeal! Chambers 5-4 and 5-5 have so far disagreed as to whether or not the provisions of the former Article L. 442-6, I, 5° C. com. which became L. 442-1, II, constituted a police law: yes for the former (CA Paris, p5 Jul. 2017, RG no. 15/19988; 9 (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden termination: sets the compensation for the sudden termination of an established relationship on the basis of variable and atypical revenues (Inter Mutuelles Habitat / Terroise IDF)

28 May 2020

Facts. The defendant is an EIG whose object is to facilitate the activity of its members, mutual insurance companies, in the management of insurance claims for assistance and repairs in kind relating to housing. For this purpose, it regularly calls upon the services of numerous construction (...)

Alain Ronzano Distribution agreement: The French Competition Authority rejects a referral concerning the breach of the agreements linking two television channels to a content distribution platform (Molotov / TF1, M6)

30 April 2020

By Decision No. 20-D-08, April 30, 2020The Competition Authority rejected Molotov’s application on the merits for lack of sufficient evidence and, consequently, the request for protective measures ancillary to that application. Molotov, a platform for the distribution of television channels and (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden termination: The French Supreme Civil Court reaffirms that a third party may invoke a sudden break of relationships on the basis of Article 1240 Civil code (Back-Holding, Ibis Backwarenvertriebs / Atlantique productions, Biscuiterie pâtisserie carrée, Régals de Bretagne)

18 March 2020

The facts. Two German companies and a French company have been working together for more than twelve years to distribute in Germany industrial bakery products manufactured by two sister companies of the French company. At the end of the last contract and in the absence of agreements between the (...)

Frédéric Buy Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court decides that, in the event of a sudden breach of established commercial relationship, a third party cannot seek compensation for any damage on the basis of article L. 442-6 of the French Commercial Code (Back-holding, Ibis Backwarenvertriebs / Atlantique productions, Biscuiterie pâtisserie carrée and Régals de Bretagne)

18 March 2020

"Only the party who directly maintains an established commercial relationship with the other party may, on the basis of this text, seek the latter’s liability in the event that he has, brutally and without written notice, broken this relationship, even partially third parties may claim (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden termination: The Paris Court of Appeal suggests that an artificial call for tenders should rule out the brutality of the breach (Totem Menuiserie / Brico Dépôt)

11 March 2020

Facts. In March 2015, Brico Dépôt informs the manufacturer who has been supplying it with exotic wood windows and window doors since the end of 2014, of the implementation of a call for tenders and of the termination on the same date, i.e. the end of December 2015, of the supply contract that (...)

Valérie Durand Non-competition clause: The French Supreme Court specifies the condition of geographic scope required for the validity of a non-competition clause (Nutrisens, Bocage, Nutrisens médical / Clarelia)

4 March 2020

Although their validity and usefulness are recognised, non-competition clauses are still met with reluctance today because of their potential for substantial infringements of fundamental freedoms such as the freedom of enterprise. For this reason, the effectiveness of non-competition clauses (...)

Frédéric Buy Sudden termination: The Paris Court of Appeal decides that a third party can sue the company liable for a sudden breach of established commercial relationship when it has suffered a loss (Plaisir Selection Japan / Organisation Intra groupe des achats)

27 February 2020

Here is a timely ruling (Paris, 5-5, Feb. 27, 2020, AJ Contrat 2020, forthcoming, obs. F. Buy). A few months ago, the Plenary Assembly of the Court of Cassation decided to uphold its Boot shop jurisprudence (Cass. ass. plén., Oct. 6, 2006, no. 05-13255), solemnly reaffirming that "a third party (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden termination: The French Civil Supreme Court decide on circumstances affecting the sudden break of established business relationships (Sum / Essilor)

29 January 2020

Fault and tolerance According to the facts of Decision No. 18-20781, a customer, whose business is the installation and maintenance of air systems in aircraft, breached the contract between it and its supplier of precision mechanical parts due to breaches of performance commitments in the (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court considers that the judges cannot substitute the basis for wrongful breach of contract with the basis for sudden termination of established commercial relationship, which is the jurisdiction of specialized courts (Rector Lesage / De Rijke Alsace)

29 January 2020

A non-specialized court shall hear a claim for damages arising from the termination of a transport contract for a fixed period of two years, renewable by tacit agreement, before the end of the contract with immediate effect. The Court of Appeal had held that the commercial relationship had (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court considers that the recruitment by a client of an employee of its service provider does not dispense with giving notice proportionate to the duration of the business relationship (Sum / Essilor)

29 January 2020

This judgment confirms the Court of Cassation’s practical approach to the conditions under which a party may be exempted from giving notice proportionate to the duration of the commercial relations. In the present case, the company The machining and metallization department (Sum) had been doing (...)

Jean-Michel Vertut Distribution agreement: The Paris commercial court orders as an interim measure the pursuit of deliveries under daily penalty to a supplier in dominant position, who had announced to a client the stop the commercial relationship with a very short deadline, after a disagreement on business conditions, in particular prices, for the upcoming year (ITM Alimentaire International / Coca Cola)

16 January 2020

The case, emblematic of the tensions between suppliers and distributors during the annual negotiations, had been revealed last January in particular by the specialised press (LSA n° 2586, 16 January 2020, n° 2586, p. 14). Following a disagreement during year-end negotiations on the pricing and (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden break: The French Supreme Civil Court holds a decision in the case of a breach excluding the special liability for sudden break of established business relationships (Système U, Knauf...)

15 January 2020

We are aware of the very strict case law in the assessment of the fault likely to justify a breach without the notice required by the former article L. 442-6, I, 5°, which became article L. 442-1, II, C. com. It has sometimes explained this, emphasising that if the text does not specify ’neither (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Significant imbalance: The French Supreme Court decides that pursuant to Article L 442-6 I 2° of the French Commercial Code, a commercial partner is a party with whom the other party commits, or is about to commit, to a commercial relationship without any other condition, either in terms of duration or stability of the commercial relationship (Cometik-Locam)

15 January 2020

The significant imbalance in its initial wording and in the wording applicable since the Order of 24 April 2019 presupposes a precondition: the submission of one partner by the other contracting party to this imbalance. Indeed, while the Order has removed the reference to the "trading partner", (...)

Valérie Durand Sudden termination: The French Supreme Court recalls that an established commercial relationship may be terminated without notice in the event of a sufficiently serious breach (Système U / M. B.)

15 January 2020

Although Title IV of Book IV and, with it, Article L. 442-6 C. com. have been reformed (see L. No. 2018-938, 30 October 2018 for the balance of trade relations in the agricultural and food sector and healthy, sustainable and accessible food for all, art. 17 empowering the Government to reform (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Sudden termination: The Paris Court of Appeal considers that if the economic crisis can constitute a case of force majeure, it must still be proven to dispense a written notice (Carrefour France / Ministre Économie and Coopérative Légumière Crimart)

8 January 2020

The Paris Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of Carrefour, which had severed commercial relations with one of its suppliers without warning. A cooperative had been supplying ED and then Dia within the Carrefour group since 1996 after various legal restructurings. In 2014, the cooperative was (...)

Marie Cartapanis Fines: The French Competition Authority imposes a EUR 150 Million fine to an undertaking for an abuse of dominant position on the online search advertising market (Google)

19 December 2019

On 19 December 2019, the Competition Authority imposed a fine of €150 million on Google for abusing its dominant position in the market for search-related online advertising. This decision is part of a general climate of mistrust towards the digital giant. In addition to the sanctions imposed (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Sudden break: The French Supreme Court decides that the actualisation of the damage caused by the termination of commercial relations can only be the legal interest rate and not the rate applicable in the event of late payment of invoices provided for by the former Article L. 441-6 of the Commercial Code (Externis / Dinadis)

18 December 2019

In a judgment on the abrupt termination of commercial relations between a logistics service provider (Dinadis) and its principal (Externis), the Paris Court of Appeal upheld the application for judgment on the ground that the notice period was insufficient and awarded Dinadis compensation with (...)

Jean-Michel Vertut Selective distribution: The French Supreme Civil Court considers that a candidature for accreditation of a secondary point of sales must respect terms and conditions agreed for the control by the supplier of required standards in the point of sales of its network, and that one-off delivery delays could be no considered as contractual fault (Établissements Christian F. / Hyundai Motor France)

11 December 2019

In our letter of April 2018, we commented on a ruling handed down in a case opposing the supplier Huyndai to one of its former distributors (Paris, February 7, 2018, No. 15/08853). In this case, a Hyundai distributor operated two sales outlets in Pau and Tarbes respectively. Each outlet gave (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Sudden break: The French Supreme Court approves the judges declaring inadmissible an action for compensation for the termination of a commercial relationship brought by several plaintiffs and based indiscriminately on contractual and tortious liability (Expertises-Rarecars / Artcurial)

4 December 2019

An expert in car valuations worked with the auction company Artcurial. After founding a Rarecars company, he continued the relationship with this auctioneer’s company through him. After seven years of collaboration, Artcurial decided to terminate the contract. The expert first tries to have the (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden break: The French Supreme Civil Court pronounces inadmissibility of legal claims based on the principle of non-cumulation between the different types of liability (Artcurial)

4 December 2019

Background. The practical implications of the lack of autonomy of the extra-contractual concept of the "established relationship" and of the contracts on which it is based are as numerous as they are daunting. Because contracts and the relationship are necessarily intermingled, many litigants (...)

Aymeric Louvet Mandate management: The commercial division of the Court of Cassation confirms that the former article L 442-6-I 5e of the French commercial code applies to the management mandate, and invalidates, based on an assessment in concreto, the post-term non-compete clause (ACS Thiers diffusion / GIFI Mag)

20 November 2019

In line with a decision recently published in the Bulletin (Com., 2 Oct. 2019, Lettre distr. octobre 2019, obs. C. Mouly), the decision under comment applies to a contract for the management and agent (Com., art. L 146-1) of the GIFI network the legal provisions relating to the abrupt (...)

Nicolas Éréséo Exclusive distribution: The Paris Court of Appeal rules that the provisions of the Commercial Code relating to price transparency and unfair commercial practices apply to the automotive distribution sector (Mazda / Montchapet Automobiles)

6 November 2019

The judgment under comment deserves particular attention in that it illustrates a worrying phenomenon: the increasing pollution of the entire distribution law by provisions which were originally intended for the large-scale distribution sector alone. In the present case, two companies (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden break: The Court of cassation agrees with a raise of article L. 442-6, I, 5° C. com. (Aliantis / Automobile Carrosserie de Bagneux)

6 November 2019

An apparent duplicate. Because the provisions of article L. 442-1, II (formerly article L. 442-6, I, 5°) of the Commercial Code sanction by extra-contractual liability the breach without sufficient foresight of a commercial relationship which itself is based on a contract whose content, if not (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden break: The French Supreme Civil Court and the Paris Court of Appeal disagree with the special character of tenure termination rules against article L. 442-6, I, 5 of the Fr. Com. code (IDF Management / Gifi...)

3 October 2019

Typology of exclusions from the scope of Article L. 442-6, I, 5°. The scope of application of the former Article L. 442-6, I, 5° C. com. and the new Article L. 442-1, II, is constantly being questioned. By induction, we thought to identify three types of exclusions. The first concern areas that (...)

Aymeric Louvet Commercial agency: The Paris Court of Appeal – to which the case is referred by the Court of Cassation – retains the seriousness of the misconducts discovered after the termination of the commercial agency contract as such misconducts took place prior to the termination (Dipa / Cémoi)

3 October 2019

Serious misconduct on the part of a commercial agent who is deprived of the indemnity cannot be ruled out on the ground that it was discovered by the principal after the termination. This solution recently reached by the Court of Cassation (Com., 14 Feb. 2018, No. 16-26037), overturning a (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden break: The French Civil Supreme Court confirms the precarious nature of business relationships despite substantial deel flow (IDF Management / Gifi...)

2 October 2019

Case law consistently identifies the relationship established, within the meaning of article L. 441-2, II (formerly L. 442-6, I, 5°) C. com. by the existence of a flow of business. More precisely, it "means commercial exchanges concluded directly between the parties, of a continuous, stable and (...)

Frédéric Buy Sudden break: The French Supreme Court decides, for the first time, that Article L. 442-6, I, 5° of the French Commercial Code does not apply between an agent and a principal (IDF Management / Gifi)

2 October 2019

On 2 October 2019, the Court of Cassation handed down an important and noteworthy ruling (D. actu 17 October 2019, obs. X. Delpech; CCC 2019, No. 198, obs. N. Mathey; AJ Contrat 2019, p. 483, note N. Dissaux; adde F. Buy, De quelques conflits de lois internes en droit des affaires, D. 2019, p. (...)

Frédéric Buy Sudden break: The French Supreme Court prohibits lower judges, in accordance with the principle that the judge has an obligation not to distort the writing submitted to him, from deciding on the basis of a sudden breach of commercial relationships whereas the purpose of the request was based on contractual liability (IGA)

18 September 2019

The law of unfair commercial practices is now leading practitioners and academics to "revisit the relationship between ordinary law and special law" (J. Klein, Les rapports entre le C. com. et le C. civ, Concurrences No. 3-2019, art. 90980.). Especially in the case of abrupt break-ups, the (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden break: The French Supreme Civil Court restraints the Paris Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction regarding sudden break of established business relationships appeals (Ciprés assurances / IGA éditions...)

18 September 2019

Article D. 442-3 of the French Commercial Code, to which former Article L. 442-6, III, now L. 442-4, III, referred, lists the courts entitled to hear disputes relating to restrictive practices. It is well known that this specialisation specifically misleads the litigant invoking an abrupt (...)

Jean-Michel Vertut Sudden break: The Paris Court of appeal rules in a sudden break of established business relationships, on a settlement of accounts between a supplier and one of its ex distributor, and studies the combination of new rules from the French Commercial code (JD Services / Brico Dépot)

31 July 2019

The Order of 24 April 2019 reforming Title IV reflects a desire on the part of the public authorities to approach the various restrictive practices according to an approach which, although minimalist in terms of the wording of what is prohibited, is nonetheless firm. Not without a somewhat (...)

Mary-Claude Mitchell Sudden break: The Paris Court of Appeal rules that a unilateral modification of tariff conditions without any notice period and the cancellation of an exclusivity clause constitute a sudden breach of established commercial relationships (Hammel / Medimat)

11 July 2019

The contours of the notion of abrupt termination of established commercial relations have been established over time by case law. It is known that, in accordance with article L. 442-6-I-5° C. com. (now L. 442-1-II), a person who breaks, even partially, an established commercial relationship (...)

Émilie Prouzet, Laurence Idot Conciliation with EU law (The reform of the French Commercial Code’s Title IV Book IV - Nanterre, April 4th, 2019)

September 2019

The Unfair Commercial Practices in the Food Supply Chain Directive Emilie Prouzet European Public Affairs Director, Federation of Commerce and Distribution, Brussels 1. In thirty years, European agriculture has experienced numerous crises, the intensity of which has particularly increased in (...)

Clémence Mouly-Guillemaud Sudden break: The French Civil Supreme Court accepts a predictable break as a non sudden break of established business relationships but still ignores victim’s reorientig to assess injury (Borie Manoux / Chateau Baret ; SNMR / Baglione)

3 July 2019

Decisions handed down in matters of abrupt termination of a commercial relationship established pursuant to the former Article L. 442-6, I, 5° C. com. (now Article L. 441-2, II) are not always reconciled with each other. Each of the principles set out is decided the other way round, as is shown (...)

Jean-Louis Fourgoux Sudden break: The French Supreme Court rules that in the event of a persistent disagreement on the purchase price of a wine vintage, the termination may not be attributed to either party (Château Baret)

3 July 2019

The species was quite original and deserves a little explanation. A castle in the Bordeaux region (Chateau Baret) had been in a commercial relationship with a merchant for about thirty years without any reason to change it. The 2009 vintage will be a casus belli between the parties. The (...)

Glossary

A

Absolute territorial protection • Abuse of dominant position • Abuse of economic dependence • Access to essential facility • Access to information • Access to the file • Agency agreement • Agent • Agreement (notion) • Amicus curiae • Ancillary restraints • Annulment • Anticompetitive objet or effect • Anticompetitive practices • Applicable law • Arbitration

B

Barriers to entry • Bid rigging • Block exemption (Regulation) • Boycott • Brand competition • Burden of proof • Business secrets • Buyer power

C

Cartel • Clearance phase I (merger) • Clearance phase II (merger) • Collecting society • Collective dominance • Collective redress (class action) • Competence • Competition policy • Competition policy • Complaint • Compliance programme • Compulsory license • Concerted practices • Concession • Concurrent jurisdiction • Consumers protection • Consumers’ associations • Control (change) • Control (notion) • Cooperation Agreement • Cooperation between competition authorities • Coordinated effects • Copyright • Corporate group • Corruption • Cost-based access • Criminal sanctions • Cross subsidisation

D

Damages • Dawn raids • De minimis notice • Direct effect • Discriminatory practices • Distribution agreement • Dominance (notion)

E

ECHR • Economic analysis • Economic efficiency • Effect on trade between Member States • Effective judicial protection • Environmental protection • Essential facility • European Competition Network (ECN) • Excess prices • Exchanges of information • Exclusive distribution • Exclusive purchasing agreement • Exclusive right (Art. 106 TFEU) • Exclusivity clause • Exhaustion • Extra-territoriality

F

Failing firm defence • Fine • Fine mitigating • Foreign direct investment (FDI) • Franchising • FRAND

G

Geographic market • Group purchasing organization • Gun jumping

H

Hard core restrictions • Horizontal agreement

I

Individual exemption • Intellectual property right • Interim measures • International competition network (ICN) • Investigations / inquiries • Investigations/ inquiries

J

Joint control • Joint venture • Judicial review

L

Legal privilege • Leniency • Licensing • Limitation period • Low prices

M

Mandatary (distribution) • Margin squeeze • Market economy investor • Market power • Market share • Media pluralism • Merger (notion) • Merger (prohibition) • Merger (withdrawal) • Minority shareholdings

N

Ne bis in idem • Non-competition clause • Notification • Nullity

O

Oligopoly

P

Parallel imports (parallel trade) • Passing-on • Pay-for-delay • Periodic penalty payment • Personal data • Predatory pricing • Preliminary ruling (Art. 267 TFUE) • Price discrimination • Price-fixing agreement • Prices • Principle of effectiveness • Principle of equal treatment • Principle of equivalence • Principle of proportionality • Private enforcement • Privatization • Procedural autonomy • Professional association • Public procurement • Public undertaking

R

Referral (merger) • Refusal to deal • Regulated prices • Relevant market • Remedies (antitrust) • Request for information • Resale price maintenance (RPM) • Resale-below-cost • Right against self-incrimination • Rights of defence • Rule of reason

S

Sector inquiry • Selective distribution • Services of general economic interest • Single branding • Sole control • Spill-over effects • Standard-Essential Patent (SEP) • State action defense • State aid (compatibility) • State aid (existing aid) • State aid (notification) • State aid (notion) • State aid (recovery) • State aid (tax ruling) • State aid (unlawful aid) • State measure • Sudden break of established business relationships

T

Test SIEC (merger) • Test SLC (merger) • Transfer of technology • Transfer pricing • Trustee (mergers) • Turnover threshold (merger) • Tying or tied selling

U

Undertaking (notion) • Unfair competition • Universal service

V

Vertical agreement • Vertical restraints (or restrictions)