The World Ski Federation FIS wants to market its top races centrally in the future. The German Ski Association is taking action against this – and has now achieved its first success in a court in Munich.
The German Ski Association (DSV) has achieved legal success in the dispute with the world association Fis over future media and marketing rights. The Munich I Regional Court largely granted an application by the DSV for an interim injunction. As the court announced, a Fis decision on central marketing from the spring violated European antitrust law. The Munich court ruled that it should therefore not be implemented.
The Fis decided on April 26th that World Cups in various winter sports would no longer be marketed by the national associations – as has been the case for many years – but in the future centrally via the world association. The court said that this constituted an “inadmissible intended restriction of competition”. This also found that the Fis was exploiting “its dominant market position to the detriment of the German Ski Association”.
DSV has the right to interim legal protection
The Fis decision represents an “obstruction of competition” because the national associations would be forced to enter into an agreement with the Fis in order to continue holding competitions.
The 37th Civil Chamber did not follow Fis’ argument that European antitrust law was not applicable in the case and that the Munich court was also not responsible. The DSV has a right to interim legal protection because the Fis had already awarded the relevant media rights to a third-party company following its decision in April.
Associations: Central marketing only under other conditions
In addition to the DSV, the Austrian Ski Association is also taking action against the Fis. The national associations are not fundamentally against central marketing – on the contrary: they also believe such a step makes sense. However, they are resisting the actions of the Fis under its controversial president Johan Eliasch. They demand to be involved in the allocation and contractual design of marketing rights. So far they have not been convinced by the FIs that the rule change will be of benefit to them.
Source: Stern
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
