Converse: Decision of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad) 23 December 2022 – Case No. 20/03965; ECLI:NL:HR:2022:1942

The use of an exclusive distribution system does not necessarily entail a real risk that the national markets will be foreclosed if the third party itself has to prove exhaustion. Where two or more parties are ordered to pay the costs of proceedings, the basic principle is that they are each liable for the whole and are therefore jointly and severally bound to comply with the order. For this purpose, it is not necessary for the successful party to have demanded or requested that the other parties be ordered to pay the costs jointly and severally. Depending on the circumstances of the case, the court may see cause to determine otherwise.