Case C-413/06 P: Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 10 July 2008 — Bertelsmann AG, Sony Corporation of America v Commission of the European Communities Independent Music Publishers and Labels Association (Impala, an international association), Sony BMG Music Entertainment BV (Appeals — Competition — Control of concentrations between undertakings — Sony BMG joint venture — Appeal against the annulment of a Commission decision declaring a concentration compatible with the common market — Judicial review — Scope — Standard of proof — Role of the statement of objections — Strengthening or creation of a collective dominant position — Statement of reasons for a decision approving a concentration — Use of confidential information)
Date: 2008-07-10
Institutions: Court of Justice
Subjects: European Commission, Internet, appeal, distributive trades, dominant position, economic concentration, music, patents licence, restrictive-practice authorisation

30.8.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 223/7

2. Directive 2000/78, and, in particular, Articles 1 and 2(1) and (3)
thereof, must be interpreted as meaning that the prohibition of
harassment laid down by those provisions is not limited only to
people who are themselves disabled. Where it is established that the
unwanted conduct amounting to harassment which is suffered by
an employee who is not himself disabled is related to the disability
of his child, whose care is provided primarily by that employee,
such conduct is contrary to the prohibition of harassment laid down
by Article 2(3).

(1) OJ C 237, 30.9.2006.

Operative part of the judgment

1. Directive 2003/55/EC of

the European Parliament and of

the
Council of 26 June 2003 concerning common rules for the internal
market in natural gas and repealing Directive 98/30/EC does not
preclude legislation of a Member State, such as that at issue in the
main proceedings, from providing for the extension, on conditions
which it lays down, of the length of the transitional period at the
end of which the early cessation of a concession for the distribution
of natural gas such as that in question in those proceedings must
occur. In those circumstances,
it must also be held that neither
Article 10 EC nor the principle of proportionality precludes such
legislation.

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 17 July 2008
(reference for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunale
amministrativo regionale per la Lombardia (Italy)) — ASM
Brescia SpA v Comune di Rodengo Saiano

(Case C-347/06) (1)

2. Articles 43 EC, 49 EC and 86(1) EC do not preclude legislation
of a Member State, such as that at issue in the main proceedings,
from providing for the extension, on conditions which it lays down,
of the length of the transitional period at the end of which the
early cessation of a concession for the distribution of natural gas
such as that in question in those proceedings must occur, provided
that such an extension can be regarded as being necessary to enable
the contracting parties to untie their contractual relations on accep-
table terms both from the point of view of the requirements of the
public service and from the economic point of view.

(Articles 43 EC, 49 EC and 86 EC — Concession for a public
gas-distribution service — Directive 2003/55 — Early cessa-
tion at the end of a transitional period — Principles of the
protection of legitimate expectations and legal certainty)

(1) OJ C 281, 18.11.2006.

(2008/C 223/09)

Language of the case: Italian

Referring court

Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber) of 10 July 2008
— Bertelsmann AG, Sony Corporation of America v
Commission of the European Communities Independent
Music Publishers and Labels Association (Impala, an inter-
national association), Sony BMG Music Entertainment BV

Tribunale amministrativo regionale per la Lombardia

(Case C-413/06 P) (1)

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: ASM Brescia SpA

Defendant: Comune di Rodengo Saiano

Intervener: Anigas — Associazione Nazionale Industriali del Gas

Re:

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Tribunale amministrativo
regionale per la Lombardia — Interpretation of Articles 43, 49
and 86(1) EC and of Article 23(1) of Directive 2003/55/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2003
concerning common rules for the internal market in natural gas
and repealing Directive 98/30/EC (OJ 2003 L 176, p. 57) —
Automatic extension of concessions for the operation of the
public gas-distribution service

concentrations
(Appeals — Competition — Control of
between undertakings — Sony BMG joint venture — Appeal
against the annulment of a Commission decision declaring a
concentration compatible with the common market — Judicial
review — Scope — Standard of proof — Role of the state-
ment of objections — Strengthening or creation of a collective
dominant position — Statement of reasons for a decision
approving a concentration — Use of confidential information)

(2008/C 223/10)

Language of the case: English

Parties

Appellants: Bertelsmann AG (represented by: P. Chappatte and J.
Boyce, Solicitors), Sony Corporation of America (represented by:
N. Levy, Barrister, R. Snelders, avocat, and T. Graf, Rechtsanwalt)

C 223/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

30.8.2008

Other parties to the proceedings: Independent Music Publishers and
Labels Association (Impala)
(represented by: S. Crosby and J.
Golding, Solicitors, and by I. Wekstein, Advocate), Commission
the European Communities (represented by: A. Whelan,
of
Agent and K. Mojzesowicz, Agent), Sony BMG Music Entertain-
ment BV, (represented by: N. Levy, Barrister, R. Snelders, avocat,
and T. Graf, Rechtsanwalt)

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: cp-Pharma Handels GmbH

Re:

Defendant: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

Appeal against the judgment of
the Court of First Instance
(Third Chamber) of 13 July 2006 in Case T-464/04 Impala v
Commission by which that Court annulled the Commission's
Decision of 19 July 2004 declaring a concentration that creates
a joint venture combining the activities of Sony and Bertels-
mann in the recorded music sector to be compatible with the
common market and the EEA Agreement (Case COMP/M.3333
— Sony/BMG)

Re:

Operative part of the judgment

The Court:

1. Sets aside the judgment of the Court of First Instance of 13 July

2006 in Case T-464/04 Impala v Commission;

2. Refers the case back to the Court of First Instance of the European

Communities;

3. Reserves the costs.

(1) OJ C 326, 30.12.2006.

Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 17 July 2008
(reference
from the
preliminary
Verwaltungsgericht Köln (Germany)) — cp-Pharma Handels
GmbH v Bundesrepublik Deutschland

ruling

for

a

(Case C-448/06) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Validity of Regulation
(EC) No 1873/2003 — Veterinary medicinal product —
Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 — Maximum residue limits of
veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin
— Progesterone — Restrictions on use — Directive 96/22/EC)

(2008/C 223/11)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Verwaltungsgericht Köln

Reference for a preliminary ruling — Verwaltungsgericht Köln
— Validity of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1873/2003 of
24 October 2003 amending Annex II to Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2377/90 laying down a Community procedure for the
establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medic-
inal products in foodstuffs of animal origin (OJ 2003 L 275,
p. 9) in so far as, by limiting the conditions of use of proges-
terone, as an active substance of veterinary medicinal products,
to application via the intravaginal route alone, it excludes the
possibility of administering that substance in the form of an
intramuscular injection — Whether or not the Commission has
power to make that limitation in the light of Articles 1(a) and 3
of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 of 26 June 1990
laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of
maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in
foodstuffs of animal origin (OJ 1990 L 224, p. 1) in conjunction
with Article 4(1) of Council Directive 96/22/EC of 29 April 1996
concerning the prohibition on the use in stockfarming of
certain substances having a hormonal or thyrostatic action and
of ß-agonists, and repealing Directives 81/602/EEC, 88/146/EEC
and 88/299/EEC (OJ 1996 L 125, p. 3)

Operative part of the judgment

the

to affect

Examination of the question referred has disclosed no factor of such a
validity of Commission Regulation (EC)
kind as
No 1873/2003 of 24 October 2003 amending Annex II to Council
Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 laying down a Community procedure
for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medic-
inal products in foodstuffs of animal origin.

(1) OJ C 326, 30.12.2006.