Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

Judgment of the General Court (Third Chamber) of 11 January 2017 —  
Topps Europe v Commission

(Case T‑699/14)

(Competition — Agreements, decisions and concerted practices — Abuse of dominant position — Grant of licences in respect of intellectual-property rights for football-related collectibles — Decision rejecting a complaint — Access to the file — Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 773/2004 — Manifest error of assessment — Relevant market — Exclusive licence — Single branding — Excessive prices)

| 1. | Competition—Administrative procedure—Rights of complainants—Access to documents—Scope—Limits  (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU; Commission Regulation No 773/2004, Art. 8(1))  (see paras 29, 30) |

| 2. | Competition—Administrative procedure—Examination of complaints—Determination of priorities by the Commission—No obligation on the Commission to adopt a decision as to the existence of an infringement—Account to be taken of the EU interest in investigating a case—Discretionary power of the Commission—Obligation to state reasons for the decision to close the file—Scope—Judicial review—Limits  (Arts 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 105(1) TFEU; Council Regulation No 1/2003; Commission Regulation No 773/2004, Art. 7(2))  (see paras 61-66, 70, 71) |

| 3. | Acts of the institutions—Statement of reasons—Obligation—Scope—Decision to apply competition rules  (Arts 101 TFEU, 102 TFEU and 296 TFEU)  (see paras 76, 77) |

| 4. | Competition—Relevant market—Delimitation—Criteria  (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU)  (see paras 80, 81) |

| 5. | Competition—Relevant market—Delimitation—No obligation on the Commission to refer to the assessments made in its previous decisions  (Arts 101 TFEU and 102 TFEU)  (see para. 93) |

| 6. | Competition—Dominant position—Abuse—Refusal of an undertaking in a dominant position to allow another undertaking access to a product or service necessary for its business—Assessment as to whether the product or service indispensable—Criteria  (Art. 102 TFEU)  (see para. 144) |

| 7. | Competition—Dominant position—Abuse—Unfair sale prices—Assessment  (Art. 102 TFEU)  (see para. 149) |

Re:

APPLICATION under Article 263 TFEU for annulment of Commission Decision C(2014) 5123 final of 15 July 2014 rejecting the complaint lodged by the applicant in Case AT.39899 — Licensing of intellectual-property rights for football collectibles.

Operative part

The Court:

| 1. | Dismisses the action; |

| 2. | Orders Topps Europe Ltd to bear its own costs and to pay those incurred by the European Commission, Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) and Panini Spa. |

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