Hello Kitty owner fined by European Commission

The EC said that the Japanese company had banned traders from selling licensed merchandise featuring Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters such as Chocolate and My Melody to other countries within the European Economic Area, which breached European Union competition rules.

In particular, Sanrio used a number measures intended to restrict out-of-territory trade, such as clauses explicitly prohibiting sales. Brussels said that the company had also used indirect means, such as carrying out audits and the non-renewal of contracts if licensees did not respect the ban, to encourage compliance with the restrictions.

Margrethe Vestager, commissioner in charge of competition policy, said: “Traders who sell licensed products cannot be prevented for selling products in a different country. This leads to less choice and potentially higher prices for consumers and is against EU antitrust rules.

“Consumers, whether they are buying a Hello Kitty mug or a Chococat toy, can now take full advantage of one of the main benefits of the single market: the ability to shop around Europe for the best deal.”