Does the franchisor have the right to shape the pricing policy and does this right violate the principles of fair competition?
2013-07-12
The answers to this question will be provided by the common court hearing the appeal of Sfinks Polska S.A. represented by the Law Firm Górnicki Durowicz Badowska-Domagała Professional Partnership from the decision of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection of 25 June 2013.
The Office of Competition and Consumer Protection indicates that franchise agreements are one of the forms of cooperation between entrepreneurs. In return for a financial benefit, one of the parties receives the right to use, among others, the trade name of the other, its trademark or service mark, business methods or technical knowledge. The franchiser may give operating instructions to its contractor. However, franchisees operate on their own account and risk. This means that it is forbidden to impose stiff or minimal resale prices on them, just as in the case of other vertical agreements between businesses.