• Mehr als 3 Millionen Wörter Inhalt
  • |
  • info@itmedialaw.com
  • |
  • Tel: 03322 5078053
Rechtsanwalt Marian Härtel - ITMediaLaw

No products in the cart.

  • en English
  • de Deutsch
  • Informationen
    • Ideal partner
    • About lawyer Marian Härtel
    • Quick and flexible access
    • Principles as a lawyer
    • Why a lawyer and business consultant?
    • Focus areas of attorney Marian Härtel
      • Focus on start-ups
      • Investment advice
      • Corporate law
      • Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and Games
      • AI and SaaS
      • Streamers and influencers
      • Games and esports law
      • IT/IP Law
      • Law firm for GMBH,UG, GbR
      • Law firm for IT/IP and media law
    • The everyday life of an IT lawyer
    • How can I help clients?
    • Testimonials
    • Team: Saskia Härtel – WHO AM I?
    • Agile and lean law firm
    • Price overview
    • Various information
      • Terms
      • Privacy policy
      • Imprint
  • Services
    • Support and advice of agencies
    • Contract review and preparation
    • Games law consulting
    • Consulting for influencers and streamers
    • Advice in e-commerce
    • DLT and Blockchain consulting
    • Legal advice in corporate law: from incorporation to structuring
    • Legal compliance and expert opinions
    • Outsourcing – for companies or law firms
    • Booking as speaker
  • News
    • Gloss / Opinion
    • Law on the Internet
    • Online retail
    • Law and computer games
    • Law and Esport
    • Blockchain and web law
    • Data protection Law
    • Copyright
    • Labour law
    • Competition law
    • Corporate
    • EU law
    • Law on the protection of minors
    • Tax
    • Other
    • Internally
  • Podcast
    • ITMediaLaw Podcast
  • Knowledge base
    • Laws
    • Legal terms
    • Contract types
    • Clause types
    • Forms of financing
    • Legal means
    • Authorities
    • Company forms
    • Tax
    • Concepts
  • Videos
    • Information videos – about Marian Härtel
    • Videos – about me (Couch)
    • Blogpost – individual videos
    • Videos on services
    • Shorts
    • Podcast format
    • Third-party videos
    • Other videos
  • Contact
Kurzberatung
  • Informationen
    • Ideal partner
    • About lawyer Marian Härtel
    • Quick and flexible access
    • Principles as a lawyer
    • Why a lawyer and business consultant?
    • Focus areas of attorney Marian Härtel
      • Focus on start-ups
      • Investment advice
      • Corporate law
      • Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and Games
      • AI and SaaS
      • Streamers and influencers
      • Games and esports law
      • IT/IP Law
      • Law firm for GMBH,UG, GbR
      • Law firm for IT/IP and media law
    • The everyday life of an IT lawyer
    • How can I help clients?
    • Testimonials
    • Team: Saskia Härtel – WHO AM I?
    • Agile and lean law firm
    • Price overview
    • Various information
      • Terms
      • Privacy policy
      • Imprint
  • Services
    • Support and advice of agencies
    • Contract review and preparation
    • Games law consulting
    • Consulting for influencers and streamers
    • Advice in e-commerce
    • DLT and Blockchain consulting
    • Legal advice in corporate law: from incorporation to structuring
    • Legal compliance and expert opinions
    • Outsourcing – for companies or law firms
    • Booking as speaker
  • News
    • Gloss / Opinion
    • Law on the Internet
    • Online retail
    • Law and computer games
    • Law and Esport
    • Blockchain and web law
    • Data protection Law
    • Copyright
    • Labour law
    • Competition law
    • Corporate
    • EU law
    • Law on the protection of minors
    • Tax
    • Other
    • Internally
  • Podcast
    • ITMediaLaw Podcast
  • Knowledge base
    • Laws
    • Legal terms
    • Contract types
    • Clause types
    • Forms of financing
    • Legal means
    • Authorities
    • Company forms
    • Tax
    • Concepts
  • Videos
    • Information videos – about Marian Härtel
    • Videos – about me (Couch)
    • Blogpost – individual videos
    • Videos on services
    • Shorts
    • Podcast format
    • Third-party videos
    • Other videos
  • Contact
Rechtsanwalt Marian Härtel - ITMediaLaw

LG Munich: Focus doctors seal is misleading

8. March 2023
in Competition law
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
0
district court g667dceb2f 1920
Key Facts
  • The 4th Chamber for Commercial Matters prohibited Focus-Verlag from awarding "doctor seals".
  • The plaintiff, the Wettbewerbszentrale, objected to paid awards for doctors as "TOP Mediziner".
  • Doctors were able to obtain a seal for EUR 2,000 net, which they were allowed to use for advertising purposes.
  • The court ruled that the awarding of the seals violated the prohibition of misleading advertising.
  • The seals give the misleading impression of a neutral examination of the doctors.
  • The defendant cannot invoke the freedom of the press because the seals are misleading.
  • The judgment is not yet final; the decision is considered to be correct.

The 4th Chamber for Commercial Matters has granted the action for injunction brought by the Wettbewerbszentrale against Focus-Verlag with regard to the awarding and publication of so-called “Doctors’ Seals” (Case No. 4 HKO 14545/21).

The plaintiff objected to the fact that the defendant awards seals to physicians in return for payment, identifying them as so-called “Top Mediziner” or “Focus Empfehlung”. Once a year, the defendant publishes the magazine “FOCUS Gesundheit” under the title “Ärzteliste”. Against a license to be paid at a value of approximately 2,000 EUR net, physicians receive a seal under the heading “FOCUS RECOMMENDATION”, which they can then use for advertising purposes and also do so (stating the specialty or the district).

The Regional Court ruled that the defendant violated the prohibition of misleading statements under unfair competition law by awarding the seals, which, according to the defendant’s own submission, are to be used by physicians for advertising purposes.

With the seals, the impression is created in their addressed public that the physicians in question, who are designated as “TOP physicians” or advertised as “FOCUS recommendations”, have been distinguished on the basis of a neutral and proper examination and thus occupy a top position among physicians in the same specialist discipline. The seals issued by the defendant against payment of a not inconsiderable so-called license fee have the appearance of a test mark and are also used as such in advertising in the media presented.

In this regard, the Board states the following: The target public would perceive the seals licensed by the defendant similarly to the test seals of Stiftung Warentest and assume that the physicians in question have been awarded on the basis of a neutral and appropriate test. According to life experience, the reference to a test mark is of considerable importance for the consumer’s business decision. The consumer expects that a product or service bearing a test mark has been tested by a neutral and expert body for compliance with minimum requirements on the basis of objective criteria and that it has certain characteristics which he considers essential for the quality and usability of the goods. In fact, however, even according to the defendant’s submission, the quality of medical services cannot be determined and compared with measuring instruments in a test laboratory. Rather, of the criteria that, according to the defendant’s submission, are taken into account in its recommendation lists, there are criteria that are based on exclusively subjective elements, such as colleague recommendation or patient satisfaction.

Nor can the defendant be heard to argue that the licensing of so-called seals is a dependent, downstream act of the medical lists, which is also covered by freedom of the press. It is true that in the facts underlying the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court NJW 2003, 277, Juve Handbook, freedom of the press also extended to the refinancing of editorial content. However, this statement by the Federal Constitutional Court referred solely to the fact that in the case to be decided there, it could not be established that the publication of rankings was used in an immoral manner to encourage the abandonment of advertisements and that ad-financed media are regularly dependent on motivating the placement of advertisements.

However, the present case is fundamentally different from this:

The anti-competitive nature of the test seals in the present case arises from the fact that they misleadingly leave the area of the editorial, evaluative contribution and give the impression that an evaluation according to objective criteria is taking place. In addition, media regularly rely on financing themselves through advertisements, but not through the awarding of seals of approval for a not inconsiderable fee. That this is an unusual, not absolutely necessary way of financing editorial contributions is shown by the defendant’s own submission that the distribution of the seals was only a reaction to the so-called “uncontrolled growth” that occurred about ten years ago. Before that, the magazines with the lists of doctors were obviously financed in a different way.

The ruling is not yet legally binding, but in my opinion the decision is correct and it is to be hoped that the same nonsense that Focus, for example, also carries out with lawyers will finally disappear from the market.

Marian Härtel
Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.

Tags: ConsumerFinancingLawsuitLizenzserviceTest

Weitere spannende Blogposts

BGH and the death blow for sampling

BGH and the death blow for sampling
7. November 2022

The Federal Court of Justice has once again ruled on the question of the conditions under which the rights of...

Read moreDetails

Legal action for banned Instagram accounts: Your options and precedents

Instagram blocking? Observe appropriate waiting period!
20. July 2023

If your Instagram account is suspended, there are a number of steps you can take to preserve your rights and...

Read moreDetails

Trademark infringement through metatags and SEO plugins

51c69c04ef4a8420f3746eeb9c918284
18. September 2024

The use of third-party trademarks in meta tags or via SEO plugins is a common practice in digital marketing, but...

Read moreDetails

The Darknet is not illegal!

Abusive warnings are punishable by law
7. November 2022

I don't have much to do with criminal law, except at the time of the state exam. That's why I...

Read moreDetails

Federal Constitutional Court: Right to Be Forgotten II

Federal Constitutional Court: Right to Be Forgotten I
27. November 2019

What is it all about? The decision "Right to be Forgotten II" published today, which is supplemented by the decision...

Read moreDetails

The Future of Influencer Regulation in Germany: A Look at the French Model and the 2022 Changes

9. June 2023

Introduction: Influencers are individuals who play a significant role in the modern advertising landscape due to their strong presence and...

Read moreDetails

Computer Bild allowed to use photo of Jan Böhmermann

Computer Bild allowed to use photo of Jan Böhmermann
7. November 2022

The magazine Computer Bild was allowed to illustrate a text about DVB-T2 receivers in HD quality with a photo of...

Read moreDetails

Can Amazon view alternative products in search?

No more free tissues at the pharmacy?
26. June 2019

The I.E. Civil Senate of the Federal Court of Justice, which is responsible for trademark law, among other things, has...

Read moreDetails

Unwanted email advertising by advertising partners

Unwanted email advertising by advertising partners
3. May 2019

In fact, it was thought that the times of court rulings on spam advertising were over. Either the perpetrators of...

Read moreDetails
Contractual regulations for no-code/low-code software development
Other

Contractual regulations for no-code/low-code software development

21. May 2025

No-code and low-code platforms enable rapid software development without extensive manual programming. Applications are increasingly being developed on the basis...

Read moreDetails
Erotic content on OnlyFans: Copyright and personality rights protection for creators

Erotic content on OnlyFans: Copyright and personality rights protection for creators

20. May 2025
Goodbye hustle culture? Startup life between 24/7 grind and work-life balance

Goodbye hustle culture? Startup life between 24/7 grind and work-life balance

19. May 2025
Startup buzzwords 2025: Bullshit bingo in marketing German Introduction: Bullshit bingo in marketing German

Startup buzzwords 2025: Bullshit bingo in marketing German Introduction: Bullshit bingo in marketing German

18. May 2025
From the metaverse boom to AI euphoria – a tech lawyer in the hype cycle

From the metaverse boom to AI euphoria – a tech lawyer in the hype cycle

17. May 2025

Podcastfolge

247f58c28882e230e982fa3a32d34dea

Digital sovereignty: Europe’s path to a self-determined digital future

8. December 2024

In this exciting episode of the itmedialaw.com podcast, we take a deep dive into the highly topical subject of digital...

Read moreDetails
AI in law: opportunities, risks and regulation – the IT Media Law Podcast Episode 3

AI in law: opportunities, risks and regulation – the IT Media Law Podcast Episode 3

24. September 2024
da884f9e2769f2f96d6b74255be62c27

The role of the IT lawyer

5. September 2024
092def0649c76ad70f0883df970929cb

Influencers and gaming: legal challenges in the digital entertainment world

26. September 2024
d00527fd01b1f807a4f80c0f202069e7

Legal basics for startup founders – how to start on the safe side!

9. November 2024

Video

My transparent billing

My transparent billing

10. February 2025

In this video, I talk a bit about transparent billing and how I communicate what it costs to work with...

Read moreDetails
Fascination between law and technology

Fascination between law and technology

10. February 2025
My two biggest challenges are?

My two biggest challenges are?

10. February 2025
What really makes me happy

What really makes me happy

10. February 2025
What I love about my job!

What I love about my job!

10. February 2025
  • Privacy policy
  • Imprint
  • Contact
  • About lawyer Marian Härtel
Marian Härtel, Rathenaustr. 58a, 14612 Falkensee, info@itmedialaw.com

Marian Härtel - Rechtsanwalt für IT-Recht, Medienrecht und Startups, mit einem Fokus auf innovative Geschäftsmodelle, Games, KI und Finanzierungsberatung.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
  • Informationen
    • Ideal partner
    • About lawyer Marian Härtel
    • Quick and flexible access
    • Principles as a lawyer
    • Why a lawyer and business consultant?
    • Focus areas of attorney Marian Härtel
      • Focus on start-ups
      • Investment advice
      • Corporate law
      • Cryptocurrencies, Blockchain and Games
      • AI and SaaS
      • Streamers and influencers
      • Games and esports law
      • IT/IP Law
      • Law firm for GMBH,UG, GbR
      • Law firm for IT/IP and media law
    • The everyday life of an IT lawyer
    • How can I help clients?
    • Testimonials
    • Team: Saskia Härtel – WHO AM I?
    • Agile and lean law firm
    • Price overview
    • Various information
      • Terms
      • Privacy policy
      • Imprint
  • Services
    • Support and advice of agencies
    • Contract review and preparation
    • Games law consulting
    • Consulting for influencers and streamers
    • Advice in e-commerce
    • DLT and Blockchain consulting
    • Legal advice in corporate law: from incorporation to structuring
    • Legal compliance and expert opinions
    • Outsourcing – for companies or law firms
    • Booking as speaker
  • News
    • Gloss / Opinion
    • Law on the Internet
    • Online retail
    • Law and computer games
    • Law and Esport
    • Blockchain and web law
    • Data protection Law
    • Copyright
    • Labour law
    • Competition law
    • Corporate
    • EU law
    • Law on the protection of minors
    • Tax
    • Other
    • Internally
  • Podcast
    • ITMediaLaw Podcast
  • Knowledge base
    • Laws
    • Legal terms
    • Contract types
    • Clause types
    • Forms of financing
    • Legal means
    • Authorities
    • Company forms
    • Tax
    • Concepts
  • Videos
    • Information videos – about Marian Härtel
    • Videos – about me (Couch)
    • Blogpost – individual videos
    • Videos on services
    • Shorts
    • Podcast format
    • Third-party videos
    • Other videos
  • Contact
  • en English
  • de Deutsch
Kostenlose Kurzberatung