Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 19 April 2018 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Tribunal da Concorrência, Regulação e Supervisão — Portugal) — MEO — Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia SA v Autoridade da Concorrência
(Case C-525/16) 1
(Reference for a preliminary ruling — Competition — Abuse of dominant position — Article 102, second paragraph, point (c), TFEU — Concept of ‘competitive disadvantage’ — Discriminatory prices on a downstream market — Cooperative for the management of rights relating to copyright — Royalty payable by domestic entities which provide a paid television signal transmission service and television content)
Language of the case: Portuguese
Referring court
Tribunal da Concorrência, Regulação e Supervisão
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: MEO — Serviços de Comunicações e Multimédia SA
Defendant: Autoridade da Concorrência
Other party to the proceedings: GDA — Cooperativa de Gestão dos Direitos dos Artistas Intérpretes ou Executantes, CRL
Operative part of the judgment
The concept of ‘competitive disadvantage’, for the purposes of subparagraph (c) of the second paragraph of Article 102 TFEU, must be interpreted to the effect that, where a dominant undertaking applies discriminatory prices to trade partners on the downstream market, it covers a situation in which that behaviour is capable of distorting competition between those trade partners. A finding of such a ‘competitive disadvantage’ does not require proof of actual quantifiable deterioration in the competitive situation, but must be based on an analysis of all the relevant circumstances of the case leading to the conclusion that that behaviour has an effect on the costs, profits or any other relevant interest of one or more of those partners, so that that conduct is such as to affect that situation.
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1 OJ C 14, 16.1.2017.