The Commission has established that Nike’s non-exclusive licensing and distribution agreements breached article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (“TFEU”).
The investigation has revealed that a number of clauses included by Nike in its agreements with licensees of merchandising products were anticompetitive.
First, the Commission has identi ed clauses that restricted, penalized or prohibited out-of- territory (“OOT”) sales; as well as mechanisms or measures put in place by Nike to ensure that such restrictions were respected by licensees.
Second, with regard to master licensees appointed for certain territories, the Commission has found that Nike required them to stay within their territories and to guarantee that their sub- licensees comply with the territorial limits.
Finally, the Commission has proven that Nike explicitly prohibited licensees from supplying merchandising products to customers who could engage in OOT sales.
The Commission’s investigation has shown that these practices lasted for approximately 13 years and concerned merchandise products of several professional football clubs, namely, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Juventus, Inter Milan, AS Roma and the French Football Federation.
Since Nike actively cooperated with the Commission, the company was granted a 40% reduction in the amount of the ne.
