Selective Distribution Systems Research Articles

Head of Selective Distribution System not Obliged to Approve Dealer’s Application that Meets the Selection Criteria

Garage de Bretagne

A Novel Hybrid Fuzzy-Metaheuristic Strategy for Estimation of Optimal Size and Location of the Distributed Generators

Optimal size and location of the distributed generators (DGs) has become a new avenue applied to achieve a proper design and to provide a better performance for the distribution system. A hybrid Fuzzy-Metaheuristic strategy has been proposed in this work to provide an optimal design for sizing and placement of different types of DGs. In the introduced strategy, the fuzzy logic based adaptive weights subroutine has been combined with a metaheuristic optimizer in conjunction with a power system model, load flow software, input/output software modules and three proposed approaches software modules suitable for various types of DGs. Minimizing active and reactive power losses as well as enhancing the voltage characteristics over the whole system using a multi objective function with dynamic adjustment of weights has been introduced in this work. Furthermore, a novel approach of variable power factor has been established and investigated as well as the previously published constant power factor and unity power factor approaches. To prove the validity of the new strategy and the novel approach, IEEE distribution systems of 33 and 66 buses have been used to test the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed strategy. A novel hybrid optimization strategy named Hybrid Fuzzy Equilibrium Optimizer (HFEO) is established to estimate the optimal size and location of three DGs inserted in the selected distribution systems. The hybrid technique is based on merging fuzzy logic to adapt the weights of the objective function dynamically with a newly developed metaheuristic Algorithm named equilibrium optimizer to achieve a better performance in the optimization process. For fair verification of the proposed technique, its results have been compared with that of five algorithms presented in literature to prove its superiority and reliability over the other state of art. For intensive comparisons, some statistical analysis has been established to show the minimum objective function, the highest speed of convergence, the least execution time and the most consistent results.

Vertical restraints in an online world – the consumer perspective

This paper maps out some of the vertical restraints in the online environment that are particularly relevant from the consumer perspective. This article focuses on some of the most contentious vertical restraints that directly involve prices, are particularly relevant for online commerce and are harmful to consumers – resale price maintenance, price parity clauses, dual pricing and bans on price comparison websites. We look at how these vertical restraints have been analysed in the EU to date and where we should go from here from a consumer perspective. Notwithstanding this limited focus, other vertical restraints—especially on online sales, selective distribution systems, or non-compete obligations—can also have strong anti-competitive effects and harm (final) consumers.

Competition law in attempt to understand (Luxury) trademarks

ABSTRACT The paper analyses the legality of online sales bans in selective distribution agreements in the EU, focusing on the “luxury brand image” justification as per the CJEU judgements and the decisions of the EC and national competition authorities. The paper questions the criteria for determining what constitutes a luxury trademark, and whether it is fair to distinguish (or even discriminate) between luxury and non-luxury trademarks, considering that both should have effective control and choice of the distribution of their goods. The paper concludes that the success of the selective distribution system depends on the effective control the trademark owner exercises over it, irrespective of whether or not it is covered by the aura of luxury. The non-luxury brands currently may justify their restrictions on sales on third party platforms under the unfair competition grounds. The selective distribution system should aim at protecting trademark image, which may not necessarily be luxury.

Vertical restraints in an online world - the consumer perspective

This paper maps out some of the vertical restraints in the online environment that are particularly relevant from the consumer perspective. This article focuses on some of the most contentious vertical restraints that directly involve prices, are particularly relevant for online commerce and are harmful to consumers – resale price maintenance, price parity clauses, dual pricing and bans on price comparison websites. We look at how these vertical restraints have been analysed in the EU to date and where we should go from here from a consumer perspective. Notwithstanding this limited focus, other vertical restraints—especially on online sales, selective distribution systems, or non-compete obligations—can also have strong anti-competitive effects and harm (final) consumers.

A study on the competition limitation of online platform sales ban through selective distribution system

온라인 유통이 점차 확대되고 중요해지면서 온라인 유통의 규제에 대한 논의가 활발해지고 있다. 이는 오프라인 유통과 다르지 않기 때문에 같은 법 적용이 이루어져야 한다는 논리와 온라인 유통의 특수성을 인정하여 오프라인 유통에 적용하는 제한을 일부 적용 제외해야 한다는 주장으로 나뉜다. 이와 관련하여 유럽에서는 Coty사가 선별적 유통시스템을 통하여 유통업자에게 Coty사로부터 허가받지 않은 제3의 사업자를 통한 온라인 판매를 금지하고 있었다. 이에 대하여 유럽사법재판소는(ECJ)는 고급 이미지 유지를 유한 선택적 유통시스템은 경쟁에 영향을 미치지만 일정한 요건들을 준수하는 경우 TFEU 101조(1)에 위반되지 않는다고 하였다. 그리고 제3자를 통한 온라인 판매를 금지한 것이 일괄면제규칙의 적용제외 대상에 해당한다고 판단했다. 우리나라에서 공급자와 유통업자 사이에 선택적 유통의 형식으로 계약을 맺었을 때, 이것이 수직적 비가격적제한행위에 해당하는지 여부가 문제된다. 또한 비가격적제한행위에 해당하더라도 예외사유로 인정될 수 있는지 그 근거와 조건은 어떻게 되는지 문제된다. 이에 대하여 유럽에서는 TFEU조약 일괄면제규칙에서 선택적 유통을 정의하고 있고, Coty판결을 통하여 선택적 유통이 일괄면제규칙에 해당하는 조건을 제시하고 있다. 유럽의 선택적 유통에 대한 일괄면제규칙과 Coty 판결을 통하여 우리나라의 온라인 유통에서의 선택적 유통이 적용될 수 있는 논리를 도출해 낼 수 있다고 생각한다.

The Right to Oppose Further Commercialisation of Goods According to Art. 15(2) of the European Union Trade Mark Regulation ‒ A Balance of Interests?

Abstract This article addresses the balance between free competition and protecting the trade mark proprietor’s interests in the context of selective distribution systems for luxury goods and the right to oppose further commercialisation. Within this framework, the author suggests a flexible system concerning the legitimate reasons for such an opposition, especially regarding luxury goods in the consumer product sector. In particular, the author looks at whether distributors of parallel imported goods – often referred to as ‘grey market traders’ – should take into consideration the limitations and conditions for the distribution of goods in the European Economic Area that are imposed on contractually bound distributors by luxury brand owners, depending on the applied distribution method, the advertising and the quality of goods. The idea of an entitlement of the brand owner to oppose matters of further commercialisation of exhausted goods if the reseller does not comply with obligations which the trade mark proprietor imposes on members of his own selective distribution system regarding specific modalities of sale is also discussed.

Ograniczenia dystrybucji selektywnej przez platformy online — uwagi na tle sprawy Coty

W związku z dynamicznym rozwojem sprzedaży internetowej coraz większą popu-larnością cieszą się selektywne systemy dystrybucji. Jednocześnie coraz częściej w ramach tych systemów dostawcy ograniczają sprzedającym na dalszym łańcuchu dystrybucji możliwość wy-korzystania internetu jako kanału sprzedaży. Takie praktyki skłaniają do pytania, czy ograniczenia kanałów dystrybucji online są dopuszczalne w świetle prawa konkurencji. Trudno jednoznacznie odpowiedzieć na pytanie, czy producent lub wyłączny dystrybutor może ograniczyć sprzedaż nie-autoryzowanym dystrybutorom na niższym szczeblu rynku, zwłaszcza sprzedaż poprzez platformy internetowe należące do osób trzecich. W opracowaniu dokonano analizy selektywnego systemu dystrybucji z punktu widzenia dozwolonych ograniczeń sprzedaży głównie w oparciu o orzeczenie wstępne TSUE w sprawie Coty. Wykorzystano także orzecznictwo sądów niemieckich. W efekcie wykazano, że — co do zasady — niedopuszczalne jest ograniczanie sprzedaży przez internet, ale rezygnacja z konkretnego kanału dystrybucji online (na przykład platform należących do osób trze-cich) jest możliwa.

Italian court orders Amazon not to sell luxury cosmetics subject to a selective distribution network

Abstract Case 50977/2018 Sisley Italia et al v Amazon Core Europe et al (Sisley v Amazon) (2019) District Court of Milan, Commercial Law Chamber, Decision of 28 March 2019 In upholding an application for an interlocutory injunction, the District Court of Milan ordered Amazon to refrain from marketing, selling, promoting or advertising on its Amazon Marketplace Sisley high - quality cosmetics. The court considered that offering luxury products alongside low-quality goods on the same Internet site: (i) is incompatible with the qualitative standards, which the members of the selective distribution system covering the said cosmetics have to respect; (ii) constitutes trade mark infringement as the existence of a lawful selective distribution network is a legitimate reason for the non-application of the exhaustion principle.

Comparative analysis of the indicators that concern power supply interruptions for electricity consumers for the selected distribution systems

Comparative analysis of the indicators that concern power supply interruptions for electricity consumers for the selected distribution systems

Is Selective Distribution Possible on the Internet? On Restrictions of Online Search Advertising and Online Sales in the Guess Case

This comment discusses the case AT.4028 of 17 December 2018, where the European Commission imposed a fine of 39.8 million Euro on clothing company Guess for several restrictive provisions in agreements with its distributors in the EEA, including restrictions of online search advertising and online sales. The case demonstrates that e-commerce leads to disintermediation within the supply chain, which in turn leads to tensions between the manufacturer of branded products and authorized distributors operating in a selective distribution system. The case does not provide, however, much practical guidance on how to align online and offline channels into one distribution system supporting a prestigious image of branded products. Therefore, an example of a distribution system integrating online and offline sales from the practice of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is presented.

Selective Distribution Networks for the Marketing of Luxury Branded Products Versus the Amazon Marketplace: The Sisley v Amazon Case before the Court of Milan

By an interlocutory order the District Court of Milan found that putting on sale on an electronic marketplace branded luxury products according to selling modalities that differ from the qualitative standards that the supplier has imposed on the resellers admitted to the selective distribution network created for the marketing of those products amounts to a trademark infringement. The Court of Milan confirms that the existence of a lawful competition-compliant selective distribution system constitutes a legitimate reason for not applying the principle of exhaustion. And more importantly, for the first time in Italy, the Court of Milan expressly found that the online sale of branded luxury products in defiance of the selling conditions imposed by the head of a selective distribution network infringes the trademark rights of the latter on such products. This paper reviews the decision of the Court of Milan and gives an insight into its practical implications.

A Comparative Analysis of Reliability Indices of Kaduna and Kano Distribution Systems

Reliability indices such as System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI) are so significant in assessing the reliability levels of power systems.A comparative analysis of reliability indices of Kaduna and Kano distribution systems was carried out. Ten years of outage data information from ten selected distribution feeders of Kaduna and Kano distribution systems were used in this paper. The mean and standard deviation of the basic reliability indices were computed using appropriate mathematical relations as input parameters. The variances of these parametric indicators were also computed.FDR3 feeder of Kaduna distribution system recorded the highest mean SAIDI of 0.1064 compared to all other feeders in the selected distribution system. Customers on this feeder were interrupted for a prolonged time while fewer of the customers were adequately served. Junction Road feeder of Kaduna distribution system had the least mean SAIDI of 0.0704 because customers’ interruption was for a short period of time even though; more customers were being served by the feeder.Bangauda feeder of Kano distribution system recorded the highest mean SAIDI of 0.1462. More customers were interrupted compared to all other feeders in the distribution system while fewer of them were adequately served while Spare feeder had a least mean SAIDI of 0.0497 because fewer of the customers attached to this feeder were interrupted while many of them were adequately served.The result of this research paper will provide a comparative analysis of the reliability indices of the selected distribution feeders on Kaduna and Kano distribution systems which will go a long way providing background information for distribution system engineers for adequate planning and maintenance of distribution feeders. Keywords: SAIDI, SAIFI, CAIDI, Customers’ interruptions, Power systems, Reliability indices, Distribution systems. DOI : 10.7176/JETP/9-8-05 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

선별유통과 제3자 온라인 플랫폼을 통한 판매제한 행위에 관한 공정거래법적 규제 연구

선별유통과 제3자 온라인 플랫폼을 통한 판매제한 행위에 관한 공정거래법적 규제 연구

Statistical Analysis of Reliability Indices of Ikeja and Port-Harcourt Distribution Systems

In the evaluation of the reliability levels of electrical power systems, reliability indices play a vital role. These indicators are System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI), System Average Interruption Frequency Index (SAIFI) and Customer Average Interruption Duration Index (CAIDI). Statistical analysis of reliability indices of Ikeja and Port-Harcourt distribution system was carried out in this research paper.. Ten years of outage data information from ten selected distribution feeders of Ikeja and Port-Harcourt distribution systems were used in this work. The mean and standard deviation of the basic reliability indices were computed using appropriate mathematical relations as input parameters. Olowu feeder of Ikeja distribution system recorded the highest mean SAIDI of 01040 compared to all other feeders in the selected distribution system. Customers on this feeder were interrupted for a prolonged time while fewer of the customers were adequately served. 7-UP feeder of Ikeja distribution system had the least mean SAIDI of 0.0693 because customers’ interruption was for a short period of time even though; more customers were being served by the feeder. Airport of Port-Harcourt distribution system recorded the highest mean SAIDI of 0.1050. More customers were interrupted compared to all other feeders on the distribution system while fewer of them were adequately served. Airport feeder of Port Harcourt distribution system had a least mean SAIFI of 0.1392 because fewer of the customers attached to this feeder were interrupted while many of them were adequately served. The result of the work will provide a background information for distribution system engineers for adequate planning and effective maintenance of Ikeja and Portharcourt distribution systems. Keywords: Statistical analysis, Mean SAIDI, Mean SAIFI, Mean CAIDI, SAIDI standard deviation, SAIFI standard deviation, CAIDI standard deviation . DOI : 10.7176/APTA/77-06 Publication date :May 31 st 2019

Internet distribution of luxury products

Owing to its particular features, the market of luxury goods is a point of interest to lawyers as much as to other professions such as economists or sociologists. These features play an important role in legal regulation of the market. While the starting point is competition law, the assessment of anticompetitive conduct under Article 101 of the TFEU cannot be complete without resorting to intellectual property law policies and rules. With the rise of the importance of internet sales, novel issues have been put before the competition authorities and reviewing courts, such as legality of various types of online restrictions in the selective distribution systems. Employing a combined IP law and competition law approach to these issues, this paper offers insights and comments on EU case law, with primary focus on the recent CJEU judgment in Coty. The intricacies of the interplay among different competition law rules and exemptions is particularly evidenced in this case. However, limited by its fact-pattern, the Coty judgment may serve as a clarification about the deluxe competition law treatment only of certain online sale prohibitions within the SDSs, while there will certainly be continuing discussions and national case law developments on other internet related competition law restrictions awaiting further elucidations by the CJEU.

Prevalence of enterohaemorrhagic <i>Escherichia coli</i> O157:H7 in drinking water and its predicted impact on diarrhoeic HIV/AIDS patients in the Amathole District, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Immunosuppressed persons such as HIV/AIDS patients are at risk of acquiring diarrhoeal infections from water-borne E. coli O157:H7. In the present study, we investigated the prevalence of E. coli O157:H7 in drinking water collected from selected distribution systems within the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape and its predicted impact on diarrhoeic conditions of HIV/AIDS persons living in this area. One hundred and eighty water samples and 360 stool swabs from confirmed and nonconfirmed HIV/AIDS diarrhoeic patients were analysed. Escherichia coli O157:H7 were isolated using enrichment culture and confirmed using molecular techniques. Of the 180 drinking water samples, 46 (25.56%) were positive for E. coli O157. The prevalence of E. coli O157 in the stools was at 36.39% (131/360) of which 56.5% (74/131) and 43.5% (57/131) were from stools of confirmed and non-confirmed HIV/AIDS patients, respectively. Molecular analysis of 27, 25 and 29 representative presumptive E. coli O157 from water and stools of confirmed and non-confirmed HIV/AIDS patients, respectively, revealed that 14.81%, 36% and 17.24% of the isolates were E. coli O157:H7. The findings predicted a possible link between E. coli O157:H7 isolated from drinking water and diarrhoeic conditions of both confirmed and non-confirmed HIV/AIDS patients visiting Frere Hospital for treatment.Keywords: prevalence, drinking water, HIV/AIDS, stool specimens, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and PCR

Coty, Clarifying Competition Law in the Wake of Pierre Fabre

On 6 December 2017, the EU Court of Justice delivered a long awaited ruling on selective distribution systems and third-party platforms in Coty.1 In the context of a dispute between luxury cosmetics producer Coty and one of its selected distributors Parfümerie Akzente, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court posed a number of questions on the application of Article 101(1) TFEU and the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (the ‘VBER’)2 to Coty’s selective distribution system. The Court seized the opportunity to provide much needed clarification on the legitimacy of preserving a luxury image through a selective distribution system, confirming the position in this area of the law as it had been understood up until Pierre Fabre3 and providing an update to the Court’s jurisprudence on online sales. Coty provides a welcome re-casting of the Pierre Fabre decision by effectively removing doubts as to the Court’s position and realigning it with its earlier case law.4

Selective Distribution Systems in EU Competition and EU Trademark Law: Resolving the Tension

Selective Distribution Systems in EU Competition and EU Trademark Law: Resolving the Tension

Selective distribution and online marketplace restrictions under EU competition rules after Coty Prestige

ABSTRACTGiven the impressive growth of Internet shopping, one may wonder how the antitrust rules on selective distribution systems might fit in the context of online sales. Indeed, the online sales phenomenon has attracted significant attention in recent years in several Member States, mainly by the question on the extent to which restrictions limiting the ability of retailers to sell via online marketplaces are compatible with competition rules. No wonder the Coty Prestige judgment is so much-awaited. The ruling is expected to shape the future of EU e-commerce affecting online markets, the luxury industry and Internet platforms.