On the Market Dominance of the Provider of Ad Blocker Software on an Asymmetrical Two-Sided Market – Also a Discussion of the German Federal Supreme Court's Decision of 8 October 2019, KZR 73/17 ‒ Ad Blocker III. Issue 10 (7th September 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Seidel, Andreas
• Is Part Of: GRUR international. Volume 69:Issue 10(2020)
• Page Start: 1032
• Page End: 1038
• Publication Date: 2020-09-07
• Subjects: Industrial property -- Periodicals; Copyright -- Periodicals; 346.048
• DOI: 10.1093/grurint/ikaa132
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2632-8623

Abstract

Abstract: The German Federal Supreme Court has once again ruled in the matter of advertisement blockers. It is the Court's third decision concerning the use of ad blocking services, this time from the perspective of competition law. Of particular importance was the clarification of the market definition and market dominance in a two-sided market, where the substitution possibilities and ad blocker software countermeasures are of greater importance. The Court also developed guidelines for the balancing of interests in the context of the examination of an abusive exploitation of a possibly market dominant position by an ad blocking business model. The resolution of this dispute will provide a benchmark for the assessment of acceptable behaviour of intermediaries under competition law. It will be of considerable importance here that the company behind 'Adblock Plus' software is operating on an 'asymmetrical' or significantly imbalanced two-sided market. In this market the benefits of the software are almost one-sided on the part of the internet users, but the financing is mainly covered by website operators who themselves experience significant disadvantages from the use of the ad blocker.