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Document 62014TJ0699
Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 11 January 2017.
Topps Europe Ltd v European Commission.
Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Abuse of dominant position — Grant of licences in respect of intellectual-property rights for football-related collectibles — Decision rejecting a complaint — Access to the file — Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 — Manifest error of assessment — Relevant market — Exclusive licence — Single branding — Excessive prices.
Case T-699/14.
Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 11 January 2017.
Topps Europe Ltd v European Commission.
Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Abuse of dominant position — Grant of licences in respect of intellectual-property rights for football-related collectibles — Decision rejecting a complaint — Access to the file — Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 — Manifest error of assessment — Relevant market — Exclusive licence — Single branding — Excessive prices.
Case T-699/14.
Court reports – general – 'Information on unpublished decisions' section
Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 11 January 2017 —
Topps Europe v Commission
(Case T‑699/14)
(Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Abuse of dominant position — Grant of licences in respect of intellectual-property rights for football-related collectibles — Decision rejecting a complaint — Access to the file — Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 — Manifest error of assessment — Relevant market — Exclusive licence — Single branding — Excessive prices)
1. |
Competition—Administrative procedure—Rights of complainants—Access to documents—Scope—Limits (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU; Commission Regulation No 773/2004, Art. 8(1)) (see paras 29, 30) |
2. |
Competition—Administrative procedure—Examination of complaints—Determination of priorities by the Commission—No obligation on the Commission to adopt a decision as to the existence of an infringement—Account to be taken of the EU interest in investigating a case—Discretionary power of the Commission—Obligation to state reasons for the decision to close the file—Scope—Judicial review—Limits (Arts 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 105(1) TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003; Commission Regulation No 773/2004, Art. 7(2)) (see paras 61-66, 70, 71) |
3. |
Acts of the institutions—Statement of reasons—Obligation—Scope—Decision to apply competition rules (Arts 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 296 TFEU) (see paras 76, 77) |
4. |
Competition—Relevant market—Delimitation—Criteria (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU) (see paras 80, 81) |
5. |
Competition—Relevant market—Delimitation—No obligation on the Commission to refer to the assessments made in its previous decisions (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU) (see para. 93) |
6. |
Competition—Dominant position—Abuse—Refusal of an undertaking in a dominant position to allow another undertaking access to a product or service necessary for its business—Assessment as to whether the product or service indispensable—Criteria (Art. 102 TFEU) (see para. 144) |
7. |
Competition—Dominant position—Abuse—Unfair sale prices—Assessment (Art. 102 TFEU) (see para. 149) |
Re:
APPLICATION under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of Commission Decision C(2014) 5123 final of 15 July 2014 rejecting the complaint lodged by the applicant in Case AT.39899 — Licensing of intellectual-property rights for football collectibles.
Operative part
The Court:
1. |
Dismisses the action; |
2. |
Orders Topps Europe Ltd to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) and Panini Spa. |