When Partners Become Competitors — Market Sharing In Storage Management And Barcodes

The Danish Competition Council ("DCC") has in a recent decision found that the storage management companies Codeex ApS ("Codeex") and Barcode People ApS ("Barcode People") have infringed the Danish Competition Act by engaging in sharing of markets and customers between them in the market for storage management (i.e. data capture and barcode scanners).

Originally, two shareholders of a jointly owned company, QBS ApS ("QBS"), had agreed on an internal division of customers and sales into their respective "departments" of QBS. The shareholders shared the profits of QBS between them.

As a part of this internal division, the two shareholders had agreed that they would not directly or indirectly carry out work, employ, enter into business relations with or otherwise have business contacts with customers with whom the other shareholder had contact with within the previous three years.