What is it about?
Restrictions on Internet sales are closely scrutinized by the European Commission and national competition authorities. It is well established that a regular ban on internet sales constitutes a particularly serious restriction that can not benefit from VBER (or “VGUF” in Swedish).
In addition, companies must also be careful about other restrictions on internet sales . In a selective distribution system, for example, trademark owners may set criteria for internet sales in order to protect their brand when distributors sell the goods or services on the internet. The European Commission states that such criteria introduced by a trademark owner or supplier regarding internet sales in general must be equivalent to the criteria set for sales in a physical store within the framework of a selective distribution system. This is called the “principle of equality”.