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Austria
Competition
The Austrian Supreme Court recently ruled that a film distributor did not hold a dominant market position despite being a monopolist with regard to the film Chocolat. However, the decision may well be contrary to a prior ruling. A cohesive definition of the relevant market regarding film distribution is thus required.
Overview (November 2002)
Including: Reform; General Procedure; Cartels; Vertical Restrictions of Distribution; Merger Control; Dominant Market Position.
Fundamental Reform of Cartel Law Goes Ahead
Amendments to the Cartel Act and the new Act on the Establishment of a Federal Competition Authority were published on April 16 2002, to take effect on July 1 2002. The Cartel Court's controversial decision in the Formil Case appears to have expedited the reforms.
Outright prohibitions of proposed mergers are rare in Austria. The Supreme Court has revoked a recent decision of the Cartel Court to this effect, and requested it to undertake additional factual research and issue a new decision.
The Austrian Cartel Court must be notified of a merger if three separate turnover thresholds are met. Recently, the court has begun to establish a new rule whereby a merger need not be notified if it has no appreciable effect in Austria.
The Austrian Supreme Court has confirmed that a most favoured treatment clause, which guarantees equal treatment of the parties to a contract as defined in the Neighbourhood Supply Act, cannot be considered an abuse of a dominant market position.
