Italy's Competition Authority (AGCM) has formally launched an investigation into DJI Europe B.V. (DJI's European subsidiary) and its Italian distributor Nital S.p.A. for alleged violations of vertical restraint agreements prohibited under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The two companies are accused of implementing resale price maintenance (RPM) for DJI's enterprise-grade drones within Italy, meaning they fixed the prices at which resellers could sell products to customers.

According to complaints received by AGCM, DJI and Nital monitored distributors' pricing by comparing it against prices published on Nital's official website (www.hobbyhobby.it). Allegedly, upon detecting price deviations, both companies issued cease-and-desist letters to the distributors involved, threatening legal action over the use of DJI trademarks and other distinctive identifiers, and warning of product supply termination. Through this approach, DJI and Nital are suspected of implementing an RPM mechanism within their distribution system, effectively undermining price competition available to customers by restricting discounts and price reductions.

Furthermore, to effectively enforce this RPM system within Italy, the parties allegedly attempted to restrict distributors from sourcing overseas (i.e., parallel imports), thereby preventing them from offering customers discounts based on more favorable prices from foreign suppliers. In AGCM's view, this RPM mechanism may constitute a “hardcore restriction” under Article 4(a) of Commission Regulation (EU) No 720/2022.

As part of the investigation, officials from the Italian Competition Authority, assisted by the Financial Police's Antitrust Task Force, conducted on-site inspections on October 23 at the business premises of Nital S.p.A. and several distributors of DJI enterprise drones.