Exclusive Import Distribution Agreement

The Competition Council launches the Guide to Vertical Agreements – The Competition Council has developed the „Guide to Vertical Agreements“ to support companies that, on a case-by-case basis, must assess the compatibility of vertical agreements (…) A new case of ACCC resale price maintenance reminds us in due course that manufacturers and suppliers must carefully treat distribution agreements regarding the price in Australia. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched proceedings against FE Sports , (…) On 16 March 2020, the French Competition Authority („FCA“) announced that it had fined Apple 1.1 billion euros, the highest ever imposed on a company for entering into vertical agreements with some of its distributors and for economic dependence on its independents (…) Facts and procedures. In April 2007, the American company Stanley Assembly Technologies (SAT), a company of the Stanley Black and Decker Group, and the Spanish company Euro Herramientas (EH) signed a contract to distribute Stanley products in Spain and Portugal for a period of one year, (…) Trademark law does not allow rights holders to prevent parallel imports, provided they are lawful and imported goods have not been modified or modified. In other words, the exhaustion of the right as a restriction on the exclusive right of the holder could not function if the product was counterfeited or resold outside the distribution system (in the case of products requiring technical assistance), or if it damages the quality and prestige of the mark or harms the consumer. Therefore, exclusive distributors should strengthen the system of guarantees that are not granted by informal importers. Benefits offered by exclusive distributors include after-sales services, brand value and the guarantee that the product is original. Such guarantees should encourage consumers to purchase products from exclusive distributors.