French Competition Law provides a comprehensive review of the French rules relating to competition: restrictive agreements, commercial negotiation, abuses of a dominant position, procedure and merger control.

French Competition Law

Acts of disruption ("désorganisation") are traditionally divided into two categories: disruption of a competitor's business or of the market. The first aims at one operator in particular and takes the form of a number of different acts such as head hunting, stealing or divulging secret know-how, manufacturing secrets or marketing methods, or disrupting an undertaking's commercial channel (e.g. vio …

Definition

Acts of disruption ("désorganisation") are traditionally divided into two categories: disruption of a competitor's business or of the market. The first aims at one operator in particular and takes the form of a number of different acts such as head hunting, stealing or divulging secret know-how, manufacturing secrets or marketing methods, or disrupting an undertaking's commercial channel (e.g. violation of a distribution network), or creating a new undertaking likely to appropriate another's customers.

The second is aimed at all operators manufacturing or marketing similar or identical products. Most acts coming under this heading are now actionable on grounds other than unfair practices, e.g., resale below cost is also punishable under Article L. 442-5 of the Commercial Code, acts by undertakings outside their Articles of Association ("para-commercial acts") are punishable under Article L. 442-10 and L. 442-11. Only loss-leader pricing that does not meet the standard for resale below cost or the non-observance of other legal provisions (e.g., Sunday closing) are still qualified as unfair trading practices disrupting the market. Thus, this traditional distinction is no longer useful.

In practice, the vast majority of disruption cases do not in and of themselves constitute unfair competition. They are qualified as such, because the maneuvers that accompany them demonstrate an abuse of free competition. Thus, disruption is most frequently cited as a subsidiary claim alongside other illegal behavior. Depending on the conduct at issue or the subject-matter to which it applies, disruption may take four main forms: abusively creating a competing company, hiring away employees, disruption of production and business activities and non-compliance with the obligations imposed by a distribution network.

French Competition Law

58. Definition

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Les notions juridiques connexes

58. Definition

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Les notions juridiques connexes

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