Selective Distribution Networks for the Marketing of Luxury Branded Products versus the Amazon Marketplace: The Sisley v Amazon Case before the Court of Milan

Abstract

By an interlocutory order the District Court of Milan found that putting on sale on an electronic marketplace branded luxury products according to selling modalities that differ from the qualitative standards that the supplier has imposed on the resellers admitted to the selective distribution network created for the marketing of those products amounts to a trademark infringement. The Court of Milan confirms that the existence of a lawful competition-compliant selective distribution system constitutes a legitimate reason for not applying the principle of exhaustion. And more importantly, for the first time in Italy, the Court of Milan expressly found that the online sale of branded luxury products in defiance of the selling conditions imposed by the head of a selective distribution network infringes the trademark rights of the latter on such products. This paper reviews the decision of the Court of Milan and gives an insight into its practical implications.