A firm is in a dominant position if it has the ability to behave inde- pendently of its competitors, customers, suppliers and, ultimately, the final consumer. A dominant firm holding such market power would have the ability to set prices above the competitive level, to sell products of an inferior quality or to reduce its rate of innovation below the level that would exist in a competitive market. Under EU competition law, it is not illegal to hold a dominant position, since a dominant position can be obtained by legitimate means of competi- tion, for example, by inventing and selling a better product. Instead, competition rules do notDallow companies to (
