Courts reject wholesaler applications
District courts in Munich and Dortmund have rejected applications from newspaper and magazine wholesalers seeking to halt contract terminations by publishers.
The Munich I Regional Court has rejected an application by the veteran wholesaler Jost against several publishers in the "Fit for Future" alliance. Jost sought to prevent the termination of existing contracts through a preliminary injunction, but the court did not grant the request.
Previously, wholesalers PDG and Lütkemeyer suffered similar setbacks in the Dortmund Regional Court. Their applications for preliminary injunctions against terminations by companies including Bauer, Burda, FAZ, Funke, and Gruner + Jahr were also unsuccessful.
The publishers targeted in the Munich case include Bauer, Blue Ocean, BurdaVerlag Publishing, various Funke Group companies, Gong, Klambt, Spiegel-Verlag, Axel Springer, and Süddeutsche Zeitung.
The dispute stems from an ongoing conflict between publishers and traditional wholesalers regarding the restructuring of press distribution. The "Fit for Future" alliance aims to modernize distribution structures and terminate or renegotiate contracts with wholesalers.
Several wholesalers view these actions as a threat to the current distribution system and have initiated legal proceedings. According to media reports, the German Federal Cartel Office had approved the plans in February with modifications.