By Maurice Nussenbaum and Claire Karsenti –
Brand management has become one of the key elements of companies’ competitive strategy. Yet brands remain on the periphery of economic analysis and raise questions for competition law. Economic and legal analysis of anti-competitive practices does not focus specifically on brands, but may in some cases recognise their role in creating barriers to entry. Decisions by competition authorities and national courts in France concerning brands are often limited to cases of potential abuse of a dominant position by former state monopolies. However, lessons can be drawn from this regarding the limited consideration given to the strategic and economic analysis of trade marks. It would indeed be necessary for competition authorities to give greater consideration to the role of brands in defining relevant markets and conducting economic analyses, as there are specific tools developed by management sciences to analyse and assess the power of brands.
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