Extract Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Art. 101; Competition Act, Sec. 6 – Samsung v ACM Headnotes by the Editorial Office 1. A manufacturer and supplier that shares and monitors recommended retail prices may engage in a conduct that constitutes a vertical restriction of competition by object. 2. The legal criterion to determine whether an agreement or concerted practice restricts competition by object, whether it is horizontal or vertical, coincides with the question of whether that agreement or concerted practice is intrinsically sufficiently harmful to competition. 3. In this regard, the court must consider the wording and aims of the agreement and/or the concerted practice and also the economic and legal context. When assessing that context, the court must also bear in mind the nature of the goods or services involved and the actual terms and conditions for the functioning and structure of the market or markets in question. The investigation of whether competition between brands has been weakened is not required.