International responsibility for advertising on the Internet

At the beginning of the year, the OLG Frankfurt ruled that a German court has jurisdiction over competition issues if the infringer acts (here statements on a top position) at a trade fair in Germany. This would also apply if it is an international trade fair and the exhibitor himself does not deliver the exhibited baggage to Germany, but the domestic trade visitor actually has the opportunity to get the luggage by other means. from abroad.

At the same time, in the same case, the Court ruled that the international jurisdiction of the German courts for advertising distributed on the Internet existed if it was a “de” top-level domain and the website contained no indication that: that the offer is not addressed to German interested parties; such a reference cannot be seen solely in the use of the English language.

Finally, the Higher Regional Court ruled that, as an agent (Section 8 II UWG) or assistant (Section 831 of the German Civil Code) of a manufacturer, a distribution company in which the manufacturer in any case owns the majority of the shares in the company and whose business activities.

This decision, taken at the beginning of the year, is highly relevant for domestic suppliers who wish to compete against foreign suppliers who compete with domestic competitors via internet advertising or at trade fairs, perhaps not be so fair. The judgment made it clear that, in that case, the infringements of competition had to be assessed in accordance with the UWG of the Federal Republic of Germany and that it was therefore not the country of origin that mattered, but the place where the conflict of interests had an effect.