Law firm Saglietti Bianco obtained a favourable judgment on behalf of German company Heidelberg Engineering, assisted by name partner Emanuela Bianco and associate Ludovica Cesaretti, in a commercial dispute before the Court of Milan concerning allegations of boycott, unfair competition, customer diversion, employee poaching and breach of trade secrets, with references to Italian and European antitrust law.
Heidelberg Engineering, active in diagnostic solutions and digital technologies for ophthalmology and recently 80% acquired by the EssilorLuxottica group, was sued by its former distributor for Lombardy following the termination of the contractual relationship. The dispute also involved a former collaborator of the claimant and Heidelberg Engineering's distributor for Northern Italy.
The Court dismissed all the claimant's requests, finding the allegations of boycott and unfair competition against Heidelberg Engineering to be unfounded. In particular, it ruled out the existence of any unlawful agreement aimed at excluding the former distributor from the market. The Court of Milan stressed that Heidelberg Engineering's decision to rely on another long-standing partner for the Lombardy area fell within its full contractual freedom, especially upon the natural expiry of the distribution contract and after adequate notice.
The decision is significant for having clarified relevant aspects of international distribution agreements, recognising the legitimacy of Heidelberg Engineering's new distribution model, based on territorial exclusivity granted to other operators. The judgment reaffirms the contractual freedom of companies in managing their distribution networks, even against the backdrop of previous long-standing collaborations.
The claims of customer diversion, employee poaching and breach of articles 98-99 of the Italian IP Code were also rejected, excluding any unlawful conduct by Heidelberg Engineering and the other defendants.