INFOCAMERE/CERVED COMPLAINTS (Conclusion of the investigation)
PRESS RELEASE
The Italian Competition Authority concluded a proceeding against all of the Italian Chambers of Commerce for an alleged violation of Section 2 (restrictive agreements) of Law no. 287/90, as well as against InfoCamere and Cerved for an alleged violation of Section 3 (abuses).
The Competition Authority found the presence of a competitive context in which the Chambers of Commerce were prevented from disseminating Chambers information in such a way as to meet professional needs. In this context in fact InfoCamere (Società Consortile di Informatica delle Camere di Commercio Italiane per azioni) is the only operator managing and marketing online Chambers information. The Authority ascertained that InfoCamere held a dominant position when providing access to such information.
Further, the anticompetitive relevance of this conduct has been strengthened by the economic integration between InfoCamere and Cerved, which is the information structure of the Italian Chambers of Commerce and deals with data banks addressed to Italian enterprises, either directly or via its network of controlled firms.
In particular, InfoCamere:
a) required a minimum guaranteed turnover of 5 billion lire and a capital of same amount for access to the online Chambers databases, and applied quantity discounts discriminating new entrants;
b) imposed, within the contract to be signed for the supply of balance sheets, the obligation to order the whole database, so that access to such information was restricted unjustifiably.
This competitive context has been changed significantly as a result of the amends to the above conduct patterns made by InfoCamere during the investigation and the commitments formally undertaken by the company.
Indeed InfoCamere arranged a new contractual scheme for the access to the Chambers databases, which can be signed by the all interested operators without being imposed an annual minimum turnover or other minimum requirements.
Furthermore, this contract provides for flexible access to the Register of Companies and the possibility to order parts of the database concerning balance sheets.
In addition, in order to ensure equal conditions to Cerved - the historic distributor - and new distributors, InfoCamere undertook to suspend the mechanism of quantity discounts set in the same contract until January 1st, 1999.
InfoCamere also committed to supply data on protests of Italian individuals and legal entities according to any terms of the regulation to be issued and to complete the planned separation from Cerved.
The Authority ruled that InfoCamere's behaviours referred to in a) and b) constituted a violation of Section 3 of Law no. 287/90.
Furthermore, the Authority found that the amends made by InfoCamere to its conduct led to remove the abuse of dominant position and, to the extent in which the commitments formally assumed will be fully respected, were likely to create competitive conditions in the markets concerned.
InfoCamere was ordered to submit a report to the Authority, within 180 days of receiving notification, on the concrete effects produced by the above measures.