EU and French Competition Law
Advice:
...implementing pricing transparency:
- billing terms
- setting payment deadlines and penalties for late payment
- communicating general terms and conditions of sale
...dealing with illicit commercial practices:
- practices restricting competition: loss-leaders, price fixing, discounts, rebates and discounts without reason, abuse of buying or selling power, sudden termination of established commercial relationships, dereferencing, abusive payment terms, conditional sales or services, violation of the prohibition to sell outside a network
- anticompetitive practices: concerted practices, abuse of dominant position or abuse of economic dependency, abnormally low price
...on mergers, acquisitions, takeovers and the creation of joint ventures:
- Project feasibility check, taking into account legislation relating to mergers as well as tests applied by competition authorities.
- informal contact and liaising with the Competition Authorities
Pre-litigation and litigation :
assistance, advice and representation, whether you are plaintiff or defendant, concerning restrictive and anti-competitive practices in civil, national and European courts, competition authorities and arbitration bodies.
Training (internal company training, through symposiums or in association with training bodies)
- Advice setting up a distribution network in France and abroad
- Compliance with consumer law
- Pricing practices
- Restrictive practices
- Anticompetitive behaviors
Distribution and Consumer Law
Advice:
Everyday assistance and advice for businesses:
drafting and monitoring of all kinds of commercial contracts:
- Contracts with suppliers: specific conditions of sale, commercial cooperation agreements, supply, procurement contracts, supplier listing agreements, sub-contracts
- Contracts with distributors: general terms and conditions of sale, exclusive or selective distribution agreements, franchise agreements, concession agreements, commission-affiliation agreements, trademarks, patents and design licensing agreements, knowledge transfer agreements, commercial agency agreements, broker agreements, consignment agreements
- Contracts with consumers: general terms and conditions of sale including general terms and conditions for the use of a website, contracts for the sale and provision of services
implementing sales policy:
- Auditing existing networks, sales practices and contracts
- Choosing the distribution network and contract models best suited to your business strategy
- Setting pricing policy (how your prices will be determined, your discounts and promotions, end of year rebates...), your sales channels (conditional sales, delivery and payment schedules), Sunday opening hours
- Complying with product regulations (quality norms, labelling, certifications, product liability...)
sales to consumers:
- Distance selling, door-step selling
- Unfair, misleading, aggressive commercial practices, unfair terms and conditions
- Sales, promotions, sales with bonuses, bundling, gifts, lotteries
- All product advertising: comparative advertising, prohibited or regulated advertising (tobacco, alcohol, pharmaceutical products)
- Setting up of client database and declarations to CNIL (French independent administrative authority protecting privacy and personal data)
Pre-litigation and litigation :
- Assistance terminating distribution agreements: checking formal conditions and applicable time limits and notice periods
- Assistance, advice and representation, for both plaintiff and defendant, when interpreting, concluding, executing or ceasing distribution agreements signed with consumers.
- Assistance, counseling and representation of businesses audited by the General Directorate for Competition, Consumer affairs and Prevention of Fraud (D.G.C.C.R.F.) and in any relevant jurisdictions
