**Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 27 June 2012 —
YKK and Others v Commission

(Case T-448/07)**

Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Markets for zip fasteners and ‘other fasteners’, and for attaching machines — Decision finding an infringement of Article 81 EC — Coordinated price increases, fixing of minimum prices, customer-sharing, market-sharing and exchange of other commercial
information — Single and continuous infringement — Evidence — Nature and implementation of the infringement — Real impact — Leniency Notice — Fines — Upper limit — Dissuasive effect of the fine — Equal treatment — Proportionality

1.                     *Proceedings — Measures of inquiry — Hearing of witnesses — Discretion of the General Court (Rules of Procedure of the General
Court, Art. 68) (see paras 43, 44)*

2.                     *Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission decision finding an infringement — Use as evidence of statements of other
undertakings which participated in the infringement — Lawfulness — Probative value of voluntary depositions made by the main
participants in a cartel with a view to benefiting from the Leniency Notice (Art. 81(1) EC; Commission Notices 96/C 207/04
and 2002/C 45/03) (see paras 52-58)*

3.                     *Competition — Administrative procedure — Commission decision finding an infringement — Means of proof — Reliance on a body
of evidence — Degree of evidential value necessary as regards items of evidence viewed in isolation (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 71,
80, 105)*

4.                     *Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Agreements between undertakings — Concept — Joint intention as to the conduct
to be adopted on the market (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 74, 75, 79)*

5.                     *Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Concerted practice — Concept — Exchange of information in the context of a
cartel or with a view to its preparation (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 76-79)*

6.                     *Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Participation in meetings having an anti-competitive object — Circumstances
from which, where the undertaking concerned has not distanced itself from the decisions adopted, it may be concluded that
it participated in the ensuing cartel — Public distancing — Restrictive interpretation (Art. 81(1) EC) (see paras 113-117)*

7.                     *Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Infringements classified as very serious on the basis of their nature alone —
No requirement to determine their impact and their geographical extent (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(3);
Commission Notice 98/C 9/03, Section 1A) (see paras 123-126, 138, 139, 143)*

8.                     *Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Criteria — Gravity of the infringement — Effective capacity to cause significant
damage to competition on the market concerned — Relevance of the market shares of the undertaking concerned (Art. 81(1) EC;
Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3)) (see paras 147, 148)*

9.                     *Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Principles of equal treatment — Decision-making practice of the Commission —
Indicative character (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3)) (see paras 149-151)*

10.                     *Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Non-imposition or reduction of the fine for cooperation of the undertaking
concerned — Need for conduct which facilitated the Commission's finding of an infringement — Discretion of the Commission —
Judicial review — Limits (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation No 1/2003, Art. 23(2) and (3); Commission Notice 96/C 207/04)
(see paras 170-172)*

11.                     *Competition — Fines — Amount — Determination — Maximum amount — Calculation — Turnover to be taken into consideration — Cumulative
turnover of all the companies constituting the economic entity operating as an undertaking (Art. 81(1) EC; Council Regulation
No 1/2003, Art. 23(2)) (see paras 192, 193)*

**Re:**

| | |
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| | APPLICATION for, primarily, annulment of Commission Decision C(2007) 4257 final of 19 September 2007 relating to a proceeding under Article 81 [EC] (Case COMP/39.168 — PO/Hard Haberdashery: Fasteners) in so far as it concerns the applicants and, in the alternative, annulment or reduction of their respective fines. |

**Operative part**

The Court:

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| --- | --- | --- |
| 1. | | Dismisses the action; |

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| --- | --- | --- |
| 2. | | Orders YKK Corp., YKK Holding Europe BV and YKK Stocko Fasteners GmbH to pay the costs. |