Major brands will now be able to block retailers from selling their products on online marketplaces. This follows a ruling in a case led by Coty which had argued that a German retailer – Parfumerie Akzente – was using marketplaces to sell its products against its wishes.
This means that it will now fall to the online marketplace businesses themselves to enter into direct contractual arrangements with brand owners in order to be able to allow third parties to sell their products via their marketplace channels.
Footwear brand Birkenstock has also been in the news for having “outed” online marketplaces for failing to vet the authenticity of products sold by third party parties under its brand name. This is expected to lead to further brands seeking to prevent the sale of goods under their brand names – whether genuine or not – in order to protect their reputations.
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