THOSE TYPES OF INFRINGEMENT WHICH ARE PARTICULARLY HARMFUL TO THE ATTAINMENT OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE COMMUNITY .
THE COMMISSION IS RIGHT TO CLASSIFY AS VERY SERIOUS INFRINGEMENTS PROHIBITIONS ON EXPORTS AND IMPORTS SEEKING ARTIFICIALLY TO MAINTAIN PRICE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE MARKETS OF THE VARIOUS MEMBER STATES . SUCH PROHIBITIONS JEOPARDIZE THE FREEDOM OF INTRA-COMMUNITY TRADE , WHICH IS A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF THE TREATY , AND THEY PREVENT THE ATTAINMENT OF ONE OF ITS OBJECTIVES , NAMELY THE CREATION OF A SINGLE MARKET .
15.THE FACT THAT THE COMMISSION IN THE PAST IMPOSED FINES OF A CERTAIN LEVEL FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF INFRINGEMENT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT IS ESTOPPED FROM RAISING THAT LEVEL WITHIN THE LIMITS INDICATED IN REGULATION NO 17 IF THAT IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF COMMUNITY COMPETITION POLICY . ON THE CONTRARY , THE PROPER APPLICATION OF THE COMMUNITY COMPETITION RULES REQUIRES THAT THE COMMISSION MAY AT ANY TIME ADJUST THE LEVEL OF FINES TO THE NEEDS OF THAT POLICY .
16.IN ASSESSING THE GRAVITY OF AN INFRINGEMENT REGARD MUST BE HAD TO A LARGE NUMBER OF FACTORS , THE NATURE AND IMPORTANCE OF WHICH VARY ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF INFRINGEMENT IN QUESTION AND THE PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE . THOSE FACTORS MAY , DEPENDING ON THE CIRCUMSTANCES , INCLUDE THE VOLUME AND THE VALUE OF THE GOODS IN RESPECT OF WHICH THE INFRINGEMENT WAS COMMITTED AND THE SIZE AND ECONOMIC POWER OF THE UNDERTAKING AND , CONSEQUENTLY , THE INFLUENCE WHICH THE UNDERTAKING WAS ABLE TO EXERT ON THE MARKET .
IT FOLLOWS THAT , ON THE ONE HAND , IT IS PERMISSIBLE , FOR THE PURPOSE OF FIXING THE FINE , TO HAVE REGARD BOTH TO THE TOTAL TURNOVER OF THE UNDERTAKING , WHICH GIVES AN INDICATION , ALBEIT APPROXIMATE AND IMPERFECT , OF THE SIZE OF THE UNDERTAKING AND OF ITS ECONOMIC POWER , AND TO THE PROPORTION OF THAT TURNOVER ACCOUNTED FOR BY THE GOODS IN RESPECT OF WHICH THE INFRINGEMENT WAS COMMITTED , WHICH GIVES AN INDICATION OF THE SCALE OF THE INFRINGEMENT . ON THE OTHER HAND , IT FOLLOWS THAT IT IS IMPORTANT NOT TO CONFER ON ONE OR THE OTHER OF THOSE FIGURES AN IMPORTANCE DISPROPORTIONATE TO THE OTHER FACTORS AND , CONSEQUENTLY , THAT THE FIXING OF AN APPROPRIATE FINE CANNOT BE THE RESULT OF A SIMPLE CALCULATION BASED ON THE TOTAL TURNOVER . THAT IS PARTICULARLY THE CASE WHERE THE GOODS CONCERNED ACCOUNT FOR ONLY A SMALL PART OF THAT FIGURE .
17.IF AN UNDERTAKING HAS PARTICIPATED IN TWO CONCERTED PRACTICES WHICH WERE BOTH DESIGNED TO PREVENT PARALLEL IMPORTS TO A PARTICULAR COUNTRY OF GOODS PRODUCED BY THE SAME FIRM , THE COMMISSION IS ENTITLED TO TREAT THE INFRINGEMENTS AS A SINGLE OFFENCE AND THEREFORE TO IMPOSE A SINGLE FINE .
Parties
IN JOINED CASES 100-103/80
100/80
MUSIQUE DIFFUSION FRANCAISE SA , VELIZY , REPRESENTED BY R . COLLIN , OF THE PARIS BAR , AND L . DE GRYSE ,