This article is concerned with the application of Article 82 of the EC Treaty to intellectual property rights. It argues that the conditions set out by the Court of Justice and Court of First Instance to determine whether the holder of an intellectual property right abuses its dominant position are unclear. The article summarises the relevant decisions of the Community courts (namely Volvo, Renault, Magill, Ladbroke, Bronner, IMS). Particular emphasis is put on the IMS case. The case serves to illustrate the confusion existing in this area of the law. The purpose of the article is to give a suggested way of reconciling the case law and thus clarify under which circumstances the holder of an intellectual property right abuses its dominant position. It also gives a preferred way of deciding the IMS case based upon this suggestion.
World Competition