Sales Ban For Luxury Goods On Amazon.de Is Admissible

On 12 July 2018 the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main (Germany) has issued its decision in the case 'Coty Germany GmbH v Parfümerie Akzente GmbH'. It has held that a supplier of luxury goods may prohibit its authorised distributors from selling through a third-party internet platform, such as Amazon.de, to protect the luxury image (decision of 12 July 2018, 11 U 96/14).

The court upheld the application of Coty Germany GmbH, which sells luxury perfumes and cosmetics through a selective distribution system. The decision follows the highly regarded ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union in this case issued last December (decision of 6 December 2017, C – 230/16).