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tinction. Legal scholars proposed to enact specific regulations on

Internet sales, whereas European Commission preferred to address this

distinction within the context of the Guidelines.

Active Sales

Active sales mean reaching out to individual customers through

direct mail, unsolicited e-mails, visits or approaching a group of cus-

tomers through advertisements on Internet and media, which will tar-

get specific or a group customers. Promotions or advertisements

should aim to influence and attract only the group it target.

Active sales can be restricted by prohibiting unsolicited emails and

advertisement. These kinds of prohibitions will secure exclusive distri-

bution. Active sales are also prohibited to protect the quality of the

product and to prevent free riding which appears where a distributors

advertisement or promotion efforts benefit another distributor.

There are certain restrictions which are allowed for online active

sales such as, limiting the use of internet by distributors if such use or

advertisement creates active selling in another distributors territory,

enforcing quality requirements for the distributors websites, agreeing

on certain conditions for becoming a member of the distribution chain

especially in a selective distribution system and also enforcing condi-

tions for offline sales such as quantity of sales in order to preserve

brick and mortar shops. Besides suppliers can require its distributors to

use third party platforms in terms of the quality standards. Agreements

including above mentioned provisions and restrictions can be exempt-

ed in cases where they meet the foreseen thresholds and requirements

of Block Exemption.

Passive Sales

On the other hand pursuant to the Guidelines paragraph 51, “pas-

sive sales are defined as responding to unsolicited requests from indi-

vidual customers including delivery of goods or services to such cus-

tomers”. Internet sales are considered as passive selling since the activ-

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See: Guidelines, para. 51, 53.

See: Guidelines, para. 51, 52, 54.