Franchising: A comparison of the EEC and US legislative approaches, with particular reference to territorial exclusivity.

Abstract

Most of the thesis will concentrate on the two jurisdictions in which the franchise method is already well established, the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United States (US). The first chapter of this thesis is a general introduction to the franchise method and its main characteristics and features. Also included, is an introduction to the different types of franchise specific legislation. In the second chapter, the development of the approach taken towards the franchise method in the EEC is examined. The chapter includes an analysis of the Court of Justice's (COJ) well-known Pronuptia judgment, the EEC individual exemptions for franchise agreements issued by the EEC Commission and the Commission's franchise regulation. The first part of the third chapter, deals with the antitrust law in the US to the extent it concerns franchise agreements. The second part of the third chapter examines franchise legislation to protect franchises in the US, both at the federal and at the state level. The study in both parts of the third chapter is done through concentrating in the status of territorial exclusivity. The fourth and last chapter presents broad comparisons and general conclusions. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)