European Commission investigates Nike, Universal Studios and Sanrio

 

European Commission investigates Nike, Universal Studios and Sanrio

The European Commission has opened separate antitrust investigations into the distribution and licensing arrangements of Nike, Universal Studios and Sanrio.

The Commission suspects that the companies’ practices may unlawfully restrict distributors from selling cross-border and over the internet within the EU single market.

The products under investigation include clothes, shoes, phones, bags and toys on which an image, logo or text is applied during the manufacturing process.  The manufacturers can only include an image or text if they have a licensing agreement with the owner of the underlying intellectual property rights.

Nike is the licensor of rights for Barcelona Football Club, Universal owns the rights for “Despicable Me” and “Minions” and Sanrio owns the rights for “Hello Kitty”.

A Commission spokesman has said that the investigation has not been prompted by complaints.

The practices of concern raise similar issues to those in the Commission’s e-commerce sector inquiry which highlighted the antitrust issues arising in selective distribution agreements.  However, it appears that the investigations are separate from the sector inquiry.

Last week the Commission opened a similar inquiry into the distribution agreements of Guess, the US clothing manufacturer.

The investigations show that the Commission has a continued appetite to open enforcement proceedings in cases involving vertical restraints. The latest investigations will revisit the interplay between restrictions on competition and limitations that are inherent in licensing agreements and show the Commission’s vigilance to tackle impediments to cross-border trade.