Since last year's "Coty" judgment of the European
Court of Justice (ECJ), it may have seemed settled that authorized
dealers in a selective distribution network can be prohibited from
selling products via third-party marketplaces, i.e. online
platforms operated by third parties such as Amazon.1
However, in a recent position paper, the German Federal Cartel
Office (FCO) has expressed a much more nuanced
view.2
According to the Coty judgment, EU competition law generally
allows the banning of online third-party platforms in selective
distribution systems, especially for luxury goods. First, where
such a ban is applied without discrimination and in a proportionate
manner to the distribution of luxury goods and with the objective
of preserving the luxury image of such goods, the ban is not
considered a restriction of competition. Second, in all other cases
– for example where the goods in question are not
"luxury goods" – the ban may be justified by the
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