As a follow up to my previous post,  I recently read a very nice Working Paper by Gabriele Accardo, titled “Vertical Antitrust Enforcement: Transatlantic Perspectives on Restrictions of Online Distribution under E.U. and U.S. Competition Laws.” 

 

The paper lucidly discusses the growth, economics, advantages and disadvantages of the E-Commerce Sector and looks at how E.U. and U.S. competition laws deal with restrictions of online sales in distribution agreements. It discusses how “…The growing importance of online commerce highlights how vertical competition law enforcement is still an important building block of competition law policies, both in the U.S. and in Europe”. While discussing the difference in approach between the two jurisdictions, the paper highlights the new competition law rules adopted by the E.U. specifically targeting restrictions of online sales in distribution agreements and explains why the U.S. antitrust doctrine is less concerned about the need to adopt specific rules applicable to restrictions of online sales.