Swedish Match wins competition court case
On 29 June 2018, the Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal dismissed the Swedish Competition Authority’s action for administrative fines against Swedish Match, producer of Swedish snuff (“snus”) products.
The Authority claimed that Swedish Match had abused a dominant position by introducing a uniform system for shelf labels in snus coolers owned by Swedish Match but lent to retail stores. However, the Court found that Swedish Match, in light of its legitimate interest in ensuring compliance with the strict rules for tobacco marketing, was entitled to introduce uniform labelling in its coolers.
The appeal judgment exonerating Swedish Match puts an end to a matter that started in 2012, and serves as an important contribution to Swedish competition case law. Swedish Match was represented by Mannheimer Swartling.
