ANTITRUST | TAR Lazio’s on ICA’s competence on aggressive practices for alleged copyright infringements

On 22 April 2025, the Regional Administrative Court of First Instance of Lazio (TAR Lazio) issued its judgment on the annulment proceedings brought before it by Photoclaim Sp. Z O.O (Company) against the Italian Competition Authority (the ICA)’s decision on case PS12170, where the ICA had sanctioned the Company and a lawyer for allegedly violating the Italian Consumer Code. In particular, the contested conduct consisted of the large-scale dispatch to Italian micro-enterprises by the Company and its attorney of standardized and aggressively formulated compensation claims for alleged copyright infringements arising from the unauthorized online use of protected photographs. In the judgment, the TAR Lazio rejected the claims of the Company concerning the ICA’s lack of competence in the case at hand, outlining that the conduct fell within the scope of the regulatory framework concerning unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices, while it was unrelated to the legal regime governing copyright protection.

Newsletter n. 107 – May 2025