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This book examines the prohibition of Resale Price Maintenance, offering a new approach that emphasizes empirically observable marketing perspective, while drawing conclusions from competition theory. Provides suggestions for a redesign of European cartel law.

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Competition law regulates anti-competitive conduct by companies in order to maintain market competition. Cartel law can also cause restraints of competition and therefore, the existing regulations should be checked, revised and updated regularly. This book deals with the prohibition of Resale Price Maintenance, which is intensively discussed in Germany at the moment. It provides a new interdisciplinary approach to the topic that emphasizes the empirically observable marketing perspective, but draws conclusions from competition theory. Thus it reflects on the consumer benefits and welfare effects of RPM legalization at the same time. Since it provides new and constructive class-based suggestions for a re-design of European cartel law, this book should be valuable for researchers, practitioners and politicians. _

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Introduction to the current problem.- The myth that welfare is promoted by prohibiting vertical price and brand maintenance.- The risk of Resale Price Mainenance prohibition for the effectiveness of inter-brand competition.- The risk of admissible price-maintenance systems for the effectiveness of inter-brand competition.- Competition-policy implications.- Management Summary: ´The Liberation of the Value Chain from Cartel-Law Restraints´.

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Prof. Dr. Dieter Ahlert: Since 1975, Full Professor of Business Administration at the University of Muenster, Germany. Foundation member of the Marketing Center Muenster (MCM). Director of the Department of Retailing and Network Marketing (IfHM) as well as the International Center of Franchising and Cooperation (F&C). Foundation member of the Network Governance Commission. For more than 35 years, Professor Ahlert and his research team have investigated the antitrust and economic problems associated with vertical marketing.

Dipl.-Kfm. Benjamin Schefer: Research assistant at the Department of Retailing and Network Marketing (IfHM) since May 2009. General manager of the Research Center for General and Textile Market Economy (FATM). His research focus mainly on the antitrust and economic problems associated with vertical marketing.

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