Double-Check Your Online Sales Contracts: Initial Results On Geo-Blocking Published

Companies should brace themselves for the extra attention that their agreements with online distributors, in particular, are likely to get. The European Commission recently published initial findings on geo-blocking as part of its ongoing antitrust sector inquiry into barriers to cross-border e-commerce. Not only are these initial findings likely to lead to case-specific investigations into online sales restrictions in distribution agreements, but they are also likely to provide national competition authorities with more ammunition to deal with these restrictions. Companies are thus well-advised to double-check their distribution agreements and underlying commercial policies for possible online vertical restraints.