Die Wurzeln der vertikalen Preisbindung in Deutschland

The author outlines the legal historical development of the institution of resale price maintenance in Germany. The author argues convincingly that the development of this legal institution can be fully comprehended only in its respective economic and socio-political context. The thesis focuses on the outline of resale price maintenance agreements in the 19th century, the economic political discussion on resale price maintenance during the Weimar Republic, the privileges applied to price maintenance according to the Act against Restraints of Competition valid after the World War II and the ban on resale price maintenance regarding branded products under the second revision of anti-trust law in 1973. A detailed analysis and description is provided in particular with regard to the legislative reasons, committee records and jurisdiction. The author provides the reader, thanks to the consequent legal historical approach, with the background knowledge necessary in order to understand the current debate on resale price maintenance. The ongoing discussions are, by means of an overview, presented in the final part, which also gives an introduction to the German special path taken by the Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt).