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Distribution Agreements within the Framework of
Turkish Competition Law
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Att. Naciye Yilmaz
Introduction
Article 4 of the Act on the Protection of Competition numbered
4054 (“Competition Act”) prohibits “
agreements and concerted prac-
tices between undertakings, and decisions and practices of associa-
tions of undertakings that have as their object or effect, or likely effect,
the prevention, distortion, or restriction of competition, directly or
indirectly, in a particular market for goods or services.
” Undertakings
may cooperate in such a way that this cooperation may prevent or
restrict the competition. Block Exemption Communiqué on Vertical
Agreements numbered 2002/2(“Communiqué no. 2002/2”), Amended
by the Competition Board Communiqués No. 2003/3 and 2007/2 pro-
vides a “vertical agreement” definition. Pursuant to Communiqué
No. 2002/2, a vertical agreement may be predicated as an “
agreement
concluded between two or more undertakings operating at different
levels of the production or distribution chain, with the aim of purchase,
sale or resale of particular goods or services.
” Within this framework,
distribution agreements are considered as vertical agreements. This
Newsletter Article evaluates distribution agreements with some of their
clauses typically used within the framework of Turkish competition law.
Exclusivity
Exclusivity, in general, means to grant commercial privileges to a
certain person or enterprise within a bordered region, or for a certain
clientele. In terms of distribution agreements, exclusivity may be con-
sidered as security requested from the producer by the distributor, in
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Article of April 2015