Vertical Agreements in EU Competition Law (4th edition)

Now in its fourth edition, this “bible for verticals” provides complete coverage of vertical agreements under the new legislative framework and provides practical solutions to commercial problems. 

It combines academic research and analysis with practical insights and includes, in addition to EU case law, a lot of practical examples from our practice and our contacts with the verticals team of the European Commission.

The focus of the book is on the competition law regime applicable to vertical agreements under Regulation 2022/720 (the general block exemption regulation), Regulation 461/2010 (the motor vehicles block exemption regulation), and the accompanying guidelines. It discusses extensively the rules on dual distribution and those applicable to online sales and online advertising, containing a new chapter on e-commerce. The book also offers guidance on the self-assessment of vertical agreements outside the safe harbour of the block exemption regulations. Finally, it addresses more general competition law themes, which are of interest outside the context of vertical agreements, such as the convergence between EU and national competition law, the recent case law of the Court of Justice of the EU on ‘restrictions by object’, and the relation between ‘hard law’ and ‘soft law’, so as to broaden the use of the book. 

The book wants to be directly relevant for practitioners, answering questions such as: Under what conditions may a supplier impose territorial restrictions on his dealer network? Is it possible to impose maximum retail prices? Are customer restrictions permissible in a selective distribution system? Can a supplier assume an exclusive supply obligation? Is an exclusive supply-back obligation included in a subcontracting arrangement enforceable? Is a supplier entitled to impose a third-party online marketplace ban? Or a narrow or broad parity obligation?