No L 222/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 10. 8. 87 COMMISSION DECISION of 13 July 1987 relating to a proceeding under Article 85 of the EEC Treaty (IV/32.034 — Computerland) (Only the French text is authentic) (87/407/EEC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 17 of 6 February 1962, First Regulation implementing Articles 85 and 86 of the Treaty (), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Articles 6 and 8 thereof, Having regard to the notification and application for negative clearance submitted on 18 September 1986 by Computerland Europe SA (‘CLE’), Findel, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, with regard to the standard form franchise agreement it has developed for the retailing of microcomputer products in Europe, Having regard to the summary of the notification published (2) pursuant to Article 19 (3) of Regulation No 17, After consulting the Advisory Committee on Restrictive Practices and Dominant Positions, Whereas: I. FACTS A. General description of the franchise system Computerland (1) CLE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Computerland Corporation of California (USA). CLE has subsidiaries in France, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy with varying responsibilities, a subsidiary in Luxembourg which handles the (1) O No 13, 21. 2. 1962, p. 204/62. (2) O] No C 114, 29. 4. 1987, p. 2. (2) distribution of products for the franchise network, and various branches, called regional offices, which handle marketing, advertising and public relations and provide on-the-spot support to franchisees, such as assistance in recruiting personnel. The Computerland group has approximately 850 retail stores worldwide. Its operations in Europe started in the late 1970s. Since then, 100 outlets have been established in Western Europe, of which approximately 85 in all of the Member States except Ireland; the largest number of Computerland stores are found in France, the UK and Germany. According to CLE’s prognosis, the number of outlets will more than double over the next three years. The average turnover of a Computerland store in the Community is 1,5 million ECU. The turnover of the Computerland group worldwide in 1986 was over one thousand million US dollars. Using the Computerland name, trademarks and the Computerland system, Computerland franchisees sell to end-users (predominantly business-users as opposed to home-users) numerous different brands of microcomputer products (hardware, software and peripheral products), and provide pre- and after-sales service and, usually, training facilities. CLE assists franchisees in setting up and running their stores, providing both commercial and technical know-how. Its continuing support services include training, information, advice, guidance and know-how regarding the Computerland methods in store management, operation, financing, advertising, sales and inventory, based on Computerland’s extensive empirical experience in the area of retail sales of microcomputer products throughout the world. CLE procures advance information on numerous brands of new products and how they can be used together, and passes this on to franchisees, as well as advice as to which among the many new products are likely to succeed on the market. Franchisees can thus offer their customers a broad range of up-to-date products and well-researched  technical advice. In return, franchisees make various financial contributions and are bound by obligations aimed at preserving the uniformity and quality standards of the system.