Developments in competition law
Some time ago, the Netherlands Competition Authority (NMa) made a groundbreaking ruling that is of great importance to all franchise organizations in the Netherlands.
Franchise agreements can be regarded as vertical agreements, which means that they are agreements between companies operating at different levels in the supply chain. The competition law for these vertical cooperation relationships, as it follows from the foregoing, every franchise organization should be by nature, is dominated in the first place by the market share of the relevant franchise organization on the “relevant market”.
The term ‘relevant market’ is not entirely unambiguous, but must in any case be distinguished into the relevant product market on the one hand and the relevant geographic market on the other. In short, the relevant product market comprises those products and/or services which, by reason of their characteristics, prices and intended use, are regarded by the end-user or customer as interchangeable or substitutable. The relevant geographic market, on the other hand, is the area within which the undertakings concerned play a role in the supply and demand of goods or services, in which the competitive conditions are sufficiently homogeneous and which can be distinguished from neighboring areas because the conditions of competition are clearly different.1
The so-called “de minimis announcement” played a decisive role in the aforementioned decision of the Nma. The “de minimis notice” (which has already been discussed several times in this series) stipulates that there is no appreciability in the context of vertical agreements if the market share on the relevant market does not exceed 15 % and furthermore, the agreement does not contain any so-called “hard-core restrictions”.
1. Commission Notice of 9 December 1997 on the definition of the relevant market for common competition law, OJ 1997, C-372/05.
The aforementioned ruling also has consequences for provisions in the area of exclusive purchasing and non-competition, among other things. The possibilities in that context for franchise organizations can be considerably expanded. This will be discussed in more detail in one of the upcoming articles.
Ludwig & Van Dam franchise attorneys, franchise legal advice
![](https://ludwigvandam.megaconcept.nl/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/232court-min-400x222.jpg)
Other messages
The right of the franchisor to sell its franchise organization to a
Many franchise agreements contain a provision stating that the franchisor reserves the right
Locations on the move
There is a lot of construction going on in the Netherlands. New shopping centers are springing up here and there. Old ones are modernized and renovated.
Making changes by the franchisee to the
In addition to a franchise agreement, the franchisee has often also concluded a rental agreement with the franchisor.
Mandatory franchise council?
Not in all cases does the franchise agreement contain a reference to the franchise council or a comparable body.
Unauthorized Dispute Resolutions Within Franchise Organizations
Franchise agreements occasionally contain dispute resolutions that grant powers to the franchisee(s), the franchise council and/or a franchise association.
Fictional employment issues
A permanent point of attention in franchise relationships should at all times be the question of whether in the franchise relationship