Enforcing trademark rights against free riders on selective distribution networks: Two recent decisions of the District Court of Milan in the luxury cosmetics sector
Introduction The interim orders recently handed down by the District Court of Milan in the Landoll v MECS case [1] and in the L’Oréal v IDS case [2] well illustrates the interaction between competition law and IP law where branded goods are marketed through selective distribution networks. Consistently with the settled EU case law, these orders indicate that violation from a third party of competition compliant selective distribution system may trigger the exemption from the exhaustion principle, allowing the supplier to enforce his trademark rights against the infringer. This note reviews the approach taken by the Court of Milan to determine when the supplier can successfully invoke trademark protection. The legal background The exhaustion principle lays down that the exclusive rights conferred on the trademark proprietor are exhausted in relation to the trademarked that have been place in the market in the EEA by the proprietor or hid consent [3] . Article 5(2) of the