ABSTRACT
Vertical agreements are agreements made between undertakings operating at different levels of the market. A typical example is an agreement between the producer of a product and a distributor. This chapter is principally concerned with vertical restraints, the contractual restrictions employed in such vertical agreements, which are used, inter alia, to facilitate the distribution of goods and services. This chapter will focus on the impact of the competition rules on distribution agreements, and in particular on exclusive and selective distribution agreements. However, it should be noted that there are a variety of types of vertical agreements, including exclusive purchasing and franchising, and often a particular vertical agreement may contain a complex mix of different vertical restraints.
