On December 6, 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in Coty Germany GmbH v. Parfümerie Akzente GmbH. that luxury brands may prohibit authorized distributors from selling their products on third-party internet platforms like Amazon.  As noted in the press release, the Higher Regional Court, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, requested the Court of Justice to determine whether a contract clause between luxury brand Coty Germany and one of its authorized distributors prohibiting the distribution of Coty good on “amazon.de” was lawful under EU competition law. The Court of Justice held that selective distribution systems for luxury brands to preserve their luxury image don’t breach EU law provided that “(i) resellers are chosen on the basis of objective criteria of a qualitative nature, laid down uniformly for all potential resellers and not applied in a discriminatory fashion; and (ii) the criteria laid down must not go beyond what is necessary.” The Court also held that EU law does not preclude contractual clauses prohibiting the sale of luxury items on third-party internet platforms in order to maintain a luxury image, provided: “(i) that clause has the objective of preserving the luxury image of the goods in question; (ii) it is laid down uniformly and not applied in a discriminatory fashion; and (iii) it is proportionate in the light of the objective pursued.”