Facts
The Federal Court dealt with a complaint against the decision of the Appeals Commission for Competition Matters of 11 July 2006, which confirmed the ruling of the Competition Commission of 21 March 2005. The Competition Commission had classified the so-called "Collective Resale Price Maintenance Agreement 1993 for the Sale of Price-Fixed Publishing Products in Switzerland" as an unlawful competition agreement within the meaning of Art. 5 para. 1 and para. 3 lit. a of the CartA. The Swiss Booksellers' and Publishers' Association and the German Book Trade Association had appealed against this ruling.Considerations
The Federal Court concluded that the Collective Resale Price Maintenance Agreement constitutes a competition agreement within the meaning of Art. 4 para. 1 CartA, which significantly impairs competition. However, such an agreement is not generally prohibited, but can exceptionally be justified by…