Sale of over-the-counter medicines via Amazon

By judgment of 18.01.2019, the 4th Chamber of Commercial Matters ruled that the sale of over-the-counter, pharmacy-based medicines via the trading platform “Amazon” did not constitute an unfair commercial act under Section 3 of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG) Represents.

The complained pharmacist, based in the town of Oberharz am Brocken, offers sellers as a so-called marketplace via the trading platform amazon.de over-the-counter and pharmacy-based medications, acting under the name of his pharmacy. The drugs are not sold and shipped via Amazon, but through the pharmacy.

A pharmacist from Munich as a competitor has sued the defendant for not offering the drugs via Amazon.

The Chamber of Commerce has not seen any violation of legal regulations in this distribution channel. It thus refers to a case-law of the Federal Administrative Court of 2012 (judgment of 18.10.2012 Az. 3 C 25/11), according to which internet mail order for over-the-counter medicines is permitted in principle.

However, if “internet pharmacies” are generally permitted, then a pharmacist may also choose the one via a trading platform – as amazon.de – as a distribution channel.

The trading platform also merely provides access to the defendant’s offer. The trading platform is not involved in the pharmaceutical activity, since the sale and dispatch are carried out solely by the defendant. However, the defendant operates a pharmacy and has official permission to send medicines.

Nor is it a violation of the law in that amazon.de there are customer reviews, both of the drugs and the pharmacy itself. For example, the seller profile shows amzon.de 100 – 511 positive reviews in the last 12 months (as of January 18, 2019). However, every user of the site can immediately recognize that this is not about advertisements and reviews of the pharmacy itself, but about the opinions of the consumers. In so doing, the defendant did not violate the rules on drug advertising.

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.