Finally, the products in question were not medicinal products and, therefore, did not require that they be sold only in a physical space under supervision of a qualified pharmacist. PDFC's concerns of counterfeiting products and free riding were also unfounded. In conclusion, a general ban on Internet marketing is possible only in very unique instances where there is undoubted proof that improvement of the product would be gained by such a ban; otherwise online marketing and distribution aids price transparency and international trade as well as making things easier for the consumer.
Analysis (how the law will effect the clietn's case)
The Board considered that a ban on internet sales imposed by a producer to its selected (authorised) distributors, is prohibited by Article 81 EC (now: Article 101 TFEU).
PDFC, therefore, has to allow its distributors to sell its products over the web. PDFC can point to the clause of vertical agreements where they need to practise caution ( therefore only selling in an offline environment) so that discontentment with product will not ruin company and...
However, the Advocate ruled that PDFC can always state a warning on its site regarding the properties of its products -- similar companies do this all the time.
Conclusion (the result of the judgment)
A general ban on Internet marketing is possible only in very unique instances where there is undoubted proof that improvement of the product would be gained by such a ban; otherwise online marketing and distribution helps price transparency and international trade as well as making things easier for the consumer. Not only were there various holes in the arguments of PDFC, but most importantly, their prohibiting its distributors to sell their products over the Internet would -- given the competitiveness of the internet -- cause heavy loss to the distributors. PDFC's position was, therefore, shown to be ungrounded and it was legally decided that they had to permit their distributors to sell their products online.
References
Access to European Union Law EUR-LEX. 31999R2790
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31999R2790:EN:NOT
