Is MAP Pricing Legal? MAP Policy Rules in the US, EU and UK (2026)

Sources: European Commission decisions of 24 July 2018; UK Competition and Markets Authority decisions on Casio, Fender, Roland, Korg and ITW.

Important: This guide is general information, not legal advice. Competition law depends on the facts, the market and the country. Design your pricing policy and reseller communications with a qualified competition lawyer in each market where you sell.

Basics

What is MAP pricing?

MAP, or minimum advertised price, is the lowest price at which a manufacturer allows its products to be advertised by resellers. A MAP policy restricts the advertised price, not necessarily the price the customer finally pays. It is different from MSRP, a non-binding recommended retail price, and from a minimum resale price, which restricts the actual selling price.

Brands use MAP policies to protect brand value, keep authorized retailers willing to invest in service and display, and avoid race-to-the-bottom pricing online. Whether that goal is legal depends far more on the country and on how the policy is enforced than on the wording of the policy itself. The key terms are defined in our price monitoring glossary:

MAP rules at a glance: US, EU and UK

By market

Is MAP legal in the United States?

Yes, in most cases. Under federal antitrust law a manufacturer may announce a MAP policy and stop dealing with resellers that do not follow it, as long as the policy is unilateral and not an agreement with resellers. Since the Supreme Court’s 2007 Leegin decision, even minimum resale price agreements are judged under the rule of reason at federal level. Some states, notably Maryland and California, remain stricter.

The Colgate doctrine: unilateral policies

In United States v. Colgate (1919), the Supreme Court held that a manufacturer may announce in advance the conditions under which it will sell and refuse to deal with resellers that do not meet them. A MAP policy built on this idea is a one-way announcement: the brand publishes its policy, decides alone how to respond to violations and does not ask resellers to agree, sign or promise compliance. Once a brand negotiates with resellers, asks for assurances or reinstates a reseller in exchange for a promise to comply, the policy can turn into an agreement.

Leegin and the rule of reason

In Leegin Creative Leather Products v. PSKS (2007), the Supreme Court ended the century-old rule that minimum resale price agreements were automatically illegal under federal law. They are now assessed under the rule of reason, weighing their effects on competition. MAP policies, which restrict only advertised prices, are generally seen as lower risk than agreements on actual selling prices.

State law: Maryland and California

Federal law is not the whole picture. Maryland amended its antitrust statute after Leegin so that any agreement establishing a minimum retail price is per se illegal, and its Attorney General has acted against a manufacturer’s unilateral pricing policy that set minimum resale and advertised prices. California courts have not clearly adopted Leegin under the state Cartwright Act, and earlier California authority treats resale price maintenance as per se unlawful. Brands selling nationally should design their MAP policy for the strictest state where they sell.

Is MAP legal in the European Union?

No, not as a binding restriction. Under Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Vertical Block Exemption Regulation 2022/720, resale price maintenance is a hardcore restriction, and the European Commission’s 2022 Vertical Guidelines list minimum advertised prices among the indirect ways of imposing it. Suppliers may still recommend a resale price or set a maximum price, provided these do not become fixed or minimum prices through pressure or incentives.

The 2022 Vertical Guidelines name MAP explicitly. A MAP policy discourages resellers from discounting even if it does not technically stop them, so it has the same effect as a minimum resale price. Efficiency justifications exist in theory, for example for a new product launch, a short-term low-price campaign or to stop a single distributor using a product as a loss leader, but they are narrow and must be proven case by case.

The 2018 consumer electronics fines

On 24 July 2018 the European Commission fined Asus, Denon and Marantz, Philips and Pioneer a combined total of more than €111 million for restricting the online resale prices of their retailers. The manufacturers tracked online prices with monitoring software and intervened quickly when retailers dropped their prices, using threats or sanctions such as blocking supplies. Because many online retailers use pricing algorithms that follow competitors, the restrictions also pushed up prices across the wider market.

The lesson is not that monitoring is illegal. The Vertical Guidelines accept that suppliers may monitor and report resale prices, with software or by traditional means. The infringement was the use of monitoring data to pressure retailers back up to a target price.

Is MAP legal in the United Kingdom?

No, not as a binding restriction. Under Chapter I of the Competition Act 1998 and the Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order, in force since 1 June 2022, resale price maintenance remains a hardcore restriction, and the Competition and Markets Authority’s guidance treats minimum advertised price policies as an indirect form of it. Recommended and maximum resale prices are generally permissible.

The CMA has been one of the most active enforcers of online resale price maintenance in Europe:

• ITW (2016), £2.3 million. A minimum advertising policy restricted the prices at which retailers could advertise fridges online.
• Casio (2019), £3.7 million. Casio used software that made it easier to monitor online prices in real time and ensure compliance with its pricing policy.
• Fender (2020), £4.5 million. Between 2013 and 2018 Fender required retailers to sell its guitars online at or above a minimum price.
• Roland and Korg (2020), about £5.5 million together. Both used price monitoring software to track real-time pricing, and the CMA increased their fines because the infringements were intentional.

Together, the CMA’s fines in the musical instrument sector added up to £13.7 million.

Other markets

Most competition regimes outside the US follow the European approach. In Türkiye, for example, suppliers may set recommended or maximum resale prices but not minimum or fixed prices, and in 2023 the Competition Board fined a manufacturer about 51.4 million Turkish lira after it tracked its dealers’ online prices and pressured those selling below the recommended price. Brands that sell in several countries should design pricing policies country by country.

Monitoring

Is price monitoring legal?

Yes. Collecting and reporting the prices resellers publish online is legal in the US, the EU and the UK, and the European Commission’s 2022 Vertical Guidelines expressly accept price monitoring by software or traditional means. The risk comes from what a brand does with the data: in the EU and UK, using it to pressure resellers back to a minimum price is resale price maintenance.

That distinction matters because price monitoring has many legitimate uses beyond MAP: spotting unauthorized sellers, checking maximum prices, finding counterfeits, understanding channel conflict, setting realistic recommended prices and measuring how often market prices change. Our 2026 study of online price changes found that 43% of products at stores showing a crossed-out price were discounted at least once in 90 days.

Red flags that turn monitoring into price fixing

• Price warnings. Asking a reseller that sells below the recommended price to raise its price, or hinting that it should.
• Supply sanctions. Delaying deliveries, cutting allocations or stopping supply because of a reseller’s prices, in the EU and UK.
• Financial levers. Linking bonuses, rebates, marketing funds or payment terms to price compliance.
• Account sanctions. Blocking a reseller’s ordering portal or access because of its prices.
• Marketplace pressure. Trying to get an authorized but low-priced reseller removed from a marketplace.
• Hub and spoke. Passing one reseller’s complaints about another reseller’s prices back and forth.
• Agreements. In the US, asking resellers to sign, confirm or promise compliance with a MAP policy can turn a unilateral policy into an agreement.

Practice

How to build a compliant MAP policy in the US

Need a starting point? Use our free MAP policy template, with 11 clauses you can copy and adapt with your lawyer. The steps below explain what a compliant policy needs.

1. Write it as a one-way announcement. The policy states the MAP and how the brand will respond to violations; it does not ask resellers to agree.
2. Limit it to advertised prices. Keep resellers free to set their actual selling price, for example in the cart or at checkout.
3. Decide responses alone. Decide internally how to respond to violations and apply the same response to every reseller.
4. Do not negotiate. Avoid discussions, exceptions or reinstatements in exchange for promises of future compliance.
5. Check state law. Review the policy against the strictest states where you sell, including Maryland and California.
6. Monitor consistently. Track advertised prices across every channel with the same rules, and keep records.
7. Review with counsel. Have an antitrust lawyer review the policy, the enforcement process and your team’s communication templates.

For the practical side of monitoring, see how to monitor MAP violations across Amazon and online retailers, our guide to the MAP policy-making process and how to enforce MAP pricing on Amazon.

What brands can do instead in the EU and UK

• Recommended retail prices. Communicate a clearly non-binding recommended price, without pressure or incentives to follow it.
• Maximum prices. Set and monitor a maximum resale price, for example to stop price gouging during shortages.
• Selective distribution. Choose authorized resellers on qualitative criteria such as service, presentation and expertise, not on price.
• Genuine agency. Where an agent sells in the brand’s name and bears no significant commercial risk, the brand may set the price.
• Brand protection. Use trademark rights and marketplace processes against counterfeits and unauthorized sellers.
• Market intelligence. Use price data to plan channels, launches and promotions, and to set realistic recommended prices.

PriceRest

How PriceRest fits

PriceRest collects and reports the prices resellers publicly display on online stores and marketplaces in 64 countries, including 20 Amazon marketplaces. It flags offers that deviate from the price thresholds you set and helps you find unauthorized sellers. How you use the data, and how you communicate with resellers, remains your responsibility and should follow the law in each market.

• US brands. Monitor advertised prices against a unilateral MAP policy with MAP monitoring software, including Amazon MAP violations.
• EU and UK brands. Use price data for maximum price checks, recommended price analysis, channel strategy and unauthorized seller detection.
• Global brands. See prices for the same product across countries and currencies; read more on our global price monitoring page.

Compare plans on our pricing page, or read the 15 questions buyers ask before choosing a price monitoring tool.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is MAP pricing legal?

It depends on the country. In the United States, a unilateral MAP policy is generally legal under federal law, although some states are stricter. In the European Union and the United Kingdom, minimum advertised prices are treated as resale price maintenance, a hardcore restriction of competition law. Recommended and maximum prices are allowed in all three.

Is MAP legal in the United States?

Generally yes. Under the Colgate doctrine a manufacturer may announce a MAP policy and refuse to deal with resellers that ignore it, if the policy is unilateral. Since Leegin in 2007, minimum resale price agreements are judged under the rule of reason federally, but Maryland treats them as per se illegal and California law is unsettled.

Is MAP legal in the EU?

No. The European Commission’s 2022 Vertical Guidelines list minimum advertised prices among the indirect forms of resale price maintenance, which is a hardcore restriction under Article 101 TFEU. Suppliers may recommend resale prices or set maximum prices, as long as these do not become fixed or minimum prices through pressure or incentives.

Is MAP legal in the UK?

No. Under the Competition Act 1998 and the Vertical Agreements Block Exemption Order 2022, resale price maintenance is a hardcore restriction, and the Competition and Markets Authority treats minimum advertised price policies as a form of it. The CMA has fined several brands, including Casio, Fender, Roland, Korg and ITW.

What is the difference between MAP and MSRP?

MSRP, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, is a non-binding recommendation that resellers are free to ignore. MAP, the minimum advertised price, is a restriction on the lowest price a reseller may advertise. MSRP is allowed in the US, EU and UK, while MAP is restricted in the EU and UK.

What is the Colgate doctrine?

The Colgate doctrine comes from the 1919 US Supreme Court case United States v. Colgate. It allows a manufacturer to announce in advance the terms on which it will deal and to refuse to sell to resellers that do not follow them, as long as it acts unilaterally and does not reach an agreement with resellers on prices.

Can a manufacturer stop selling to a retailer that ignores MAP?

In the United States, a manufacturer acting unilaterally under the Colgate doctrine may generally stop selling to a retailer that ignores its MAP policy, subject to state law. In the EU and the UK, stopping or delaying supply because of a retailer’s prices is a typical way of imposing resale price maintenance and is not allowed.

Is price monitoring software legal?

Yes. Monitoring the prices resellers publish online is legal, and the European Commission’s 2022 Vertical Guidelines expressly accept it. Competition authorities have fined brands that combined monitoring software with pressure on resellers, such as the four electronics makers fined in the EU in 2018, but the monitoring itself was not the infringement.

What are the fines for resale price maintenance?

In the EU and the UK, competition authorities can fine a company up to 10% of its worldwide annual turnover. In 2018 the European Commission fined four electronics makers more than 111 million euros, and between 2019 and 2020 the UK CMA fined musical instrument firms a total of 13.7 million pounds.

How do I create a MAP policy that complies with the law?

In the US, write the policy as a one-way announcement limited to advertised prices, decide responses to violations alone, apply them consistently and avoid negotiating with resellers. Check the strictest state laws where you sell. In the EU and UK, use recommended or maximum prices instead of MAP. Always review the policy with competition counsel.