Decision No 540/VII/2012 of National Competition Commission (in Assembly)

The National Competition Commission in Assembly resolved a judgment against the Commission’s fixed jurisprudence, concerning litigation between a movie cinema operator company and a movie distribution company.

Our client, a cinema-multiplex operator company, the applicant, in order for its business to be evolved, was requesting first run movies to be distributed to it by a movie distribution company, the defendant, that distributed exclusively in Greece certain productions.

The defendant was refusing or was delaying first run movies’ distribution to the applicant, apparently because its affiliates companies were doing business similar to the applicant’s.

The National Competition Commission in Assembly, by virtue of the decision No 540/VII/2012, decided that the defendant’s behavior formed an abuse of its distribution rights because:
• The applicant doesn’t have an alternative equivalent solution
• The defendant’s policy leads the applicant not only to money loss, but also to its reputation’s depreciation, given that the cinema-multiplex’s visitor expects to have the opportunity to choose through a wide range of first run movies.

According to the article 2a of the law 703/77, any business/financial relationship’s abuse is prohibited.

Until that time, the Committee hesitated to consider that the aforementioned article is applied in cases where there is not any prior to the abuse business or other financial relationship between the litigant parties.

The National Competition Commission in Assembly, in this case, obliged the defendant to provide in time the applicant with at least one copy of each first run movie and, in case of this obligation’s violation, threatened with a fine of 10.000 € for each day of not compliance with the decision.