On October 10, 2014, the French Competition Authority adopted a decision in favor of Trodat France rejecting outright the complaint filed on November 8, 2013 by Empreinte Océane, a client of Trodat France.
In its complaint concerning the self-inking stamp sector, Empreinte Océane claimed that Trodat France held a dominant position on the market and accused it of several abusive practices among which alleged price discrimination and denigration or even systematic capturing of public bids by a few companies allegedly enjoying preferential pricing from Trodat France for Trodat products.
The French Competition Authority rejected the claim for lack of sufficient evidence, stating, in a detailed statement of reasons, that each of Empreinte Océane’s allegations were clearly unfounded. In particular, the competition authority underlined that a review of notices of awards of public bids revealed that Empreinte Océane had been awarded a significant number of contracts for procurement of stamps and that public bids generally did not require Trodat brand products. Trodat France was not held responsible for any abusive conduct.
The decision has become final since Empreinte Océane has not filed an appeal against it.
Kramer Levin partner Marco Plankensteiner and associate Elise Créquer represented Trodat France.