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Element 3 - Abuse - Exclusionary Abuse - Refusal to Supply

Q: Metro-SB-Grossmarkte GmbH & Co v Commission

A refusal may be permissible if it is non-discriminatory and objectively justified .

Q: Essential Facilities doctrine

The doctrine concerns undertakings which own or control a facility that is necessary to carry out a particular type of business , but which could not be reproduced by a competing entity or a potential competing entity.

5 important questions on Element 3 - Abuse - Exclusionary Abuse - Refusal to Supply

Instituto Chemioterapico Italiano SpA/Commercial Solvents (cases 6 and 7/73)

CSC'subsidiary, ICI, would take over production of ethambutol previously undertaken by Zoja.

CS held CSC having a DP in market for amino-butanol and refused to supply Zoja causes Zoja could no longer make a drug used to treat TB.

Metro-SB-Grossmarkte GmbH & Co v Commission

A refusal may be permissible if it is non-discriminatory and objectively justified.

Radio Telefis Eireann v Commission, British Broadcasting Corporation v Commission and Independent Television Publications Ltd v Commission

Facts: The applicant television companies were seeking to exploit their copyright in television programme listings to prevent competitors from publishing television programmes guides in competition with their own publications, to the detriment of consumers.

Held: GC upheld the decision of the Commission which condemned a refusal to supply a party with whom it had no pre-existing commercial relationship.

Radio Telefis Eireann Commission (Magill case)

The CJ upheld the decision above on appeal.

The CJ focused on the fact that the television companies were the sole source of the information which is needed to produce weekly listings guides for all channels, that there was a market for such a product and the product was not being produced because of the behaviour of the television companies, and that the television companies were therefore without objective justification seeking to reserve a secondary market (television guide publishing) to themselves.

Essential Facilities doctrine

The doctrine concerns undertakings which own or control a facility that is necessary to carry out a particular type of business, but which could not be reproduced by a competing entity or a potential competing entity.

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

Steiner and Woods EU Law | 9780199685677 | Lorna Woods, et al

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