The luxury bathroom fittings manufacturer Dornbracht has lost its appeal to the German Supreme Court against an order from a lower court awarding damages of €820,000 to a retailer because of losses suffered due to an anticompetitive clause in Dornbracht’s distribution agreements.

The case is one of several recent examples of private enforcement in Germany against competition law infringements concerning internet sales of branded consumer goods.1 It should also be seen in the context of the growing number of investigations initiated by EU national competition authorities (NCAs), who are showing ever-growing willingness to pursue cases against online sales restrictions and thereby paving the way for ‘follow on’ damages actions such as that brought by Dornbracht.