Minions, Hello Kitty and Barcelona kits under investigation by EU

Barcelona football kits and clothes and accessories branded with Hello Kitty and 'Minions' characters are being investigated by the European Union over possible illegal licensing and distribution practices/

The European Commission, the EU's operating arm, has launched three separate antitrust investigations into Nike, Sanrio and Universal Studios to see if they were illegally restricting shops and traders from selling licensed merchandise cross-border and online within the EU single market.

"The Commission is investigating whether Nike, Sanrio and Universal Studios are restricting cross border and online sales of merchandising products," said EC competition boss Margrethe Vestager.

"We are going to examine whether the licensing and distribution practices of these three companies may be denying consumers access to wider choice and better deals in the Single Market".

The investigations concern the licensing and distribution of merchandising products, including clothes, shoes, phone accessories, bags or toys, on which an image or text is applied during the manufacturing process.

"The aim is to increase the products' attractiveness for consumers, often children or teenagers. The manufacturer (licensee) may only use such images or text if it has signed a licencing agreement with the owner of the relevant intellectual property rights (licensor)," the EC said.

Nike is the licensor of rights for FC Barcelona's merchandise, Sanrio is the licensor of rights for Hello Kitty and Universal Studios is the licensor of rights for the "Minions" and "Despicable Me".

The EC said it will investigate whether the three companies, in their role as licensors of rights for merchandising products, may have breached EU competition rules by restricting their licensees' ability to sell licensed merchandise cross-border and online.

"These practices may ultimately harm consumers by preventing them from benefiting from greater choice and lower prices, both online and offline," it said, adding that if proven, the companies' behaviour may breach EU competition rules that prohibit anti-competitive agreements between companies, but stressed that an opening of a formal investigation does not prejudge its outcome.