{"id":2050,"date":"2011-02-13T11:41:40","date_gmt":"2011-02-13T11:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/rechtsanwaltsblog\/?p=67"},"modified":"2025-10-28T10:31:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T10:31:18","slug":"wettbewerbsrecht-irrefuhrende-werbung-aufgrund-unzutreffender-materialangabe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mth-partner.de\/en\/competition-law-misleading-advertising-due-to-inaccurate-material-information\/","title":{"rendered":"Competition law: Misleading advertising due to inaccurate material information"},"content":{"rendered":"

D\u00fcsseldorf Higher Regional Court, 05.10.2010, Ref.: I-20 U 180\/09<\/strong><\/p>\n

The advertising of products or services is subject to strict conditions in Germany.<\/p>\n

According to Section 5 (1) No. 1 of the German Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), a commercial act is misleading if it contains untrue statements or other misleading statements about essential characteristics of the goods or services. The law lists the availability, type, design, advantages, risks, composition or accessories of the products or services as such characteristics, for example. If a competitor makes false statements about the composition of its product in its advertising, other competitors are entitled to injunctive relief pursuant to Section 8 (1), Section 3, Section 5 (1) sentence 2 no. 1 UWG as amended.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Case Facts<\/span><\/h3>\n

In this case, a consumer association took legal action against a supplier of textiles that advertised children's slippers with a misleading product description. The advertisement promoted the shoes with the words \"pure new wool upper - cosy whale fabric\", while the outsole was described as \"polyester felt with latex coating\". The association criticised the fact that the knitted cuffs of the slippers were not made of pure new wool but of polyacrylic. The association therefore considered the advertising to be inaccurate and misleading. The regional court upheld the association's claim, ordered the supplier to cease the misleading advertising and obliged it to reimburse the warning costs. The provider appealed against this judgement, which was heard by the D\u00fcsseldorf Higher Regional Court (OLG).<\/p>\n

<\/span>Judgement of the OLG D\u00fcsseldorf<\/span><\/h3>\n

The D\u00fcsseldorf Higher Regional Court confirmed the judgement of the lower court. The court clarified that the advertising was indeed misleading. An average consumer would understand the term \"upper material\" to mean the entire surface of the shoe above the sole. However, as the knitted cuffs, which are also part of this upper material, are not made of pure new wool but of polyacrylic, the advertising was inaccurate. The OLG emphasised that the majority of consumers would understand the material information in the advertisement to mean that all components of the outer material were made of virgin wool. The advertising was therefore likely to mislead the consumer.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Legal Assessment<\/span><\/h3>\n

The court based its decision on the provisions of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG). A claim for injunctive relief arises from \u00a7 8 para. 1, \u00a7\u00a7 3, 5 para. 2 sentence 1 no. 1 a. F., \u00a7 5 para. 1 sentence 2 no. 1 n. F. UWG. F., \u00a7 5 para. 1 sentence 2 no. 1 n. F. UWG. Accordingly, misleading commercial acts are unlawful, in particular if they are likely to influence the economic behaviour of consumers. As the misleading advertising could potentially influence consumers' purchasing decisions, the court considered the legal requirements for injunctive relief to be met.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Conclusion<\/span><\/h3>\n

The judgement of the D\u00fcsseldorf Higher Regional Court underlines the importance of transparent and accurate advertising with regard to material specifications. It emphasises that misleading information about essential product characteristics, such as the material used, is inadmissible. Suppliers must ensure that their product information corresponds to the actual condition of the advertised product in order not to mislead consumers.<\/p>\n

Source: Higher Regional Court of D\u00fcsseldorf<\/p>\n

Important Note: The content of this article has been prepared to the best of our knowledge and belief. However, due to the complexity and constant evolution of the subject matter, we must exclude liability and warranty.<\/b> Important Notice: The content of this article has been created to the best of our knowledge and understanding. However, due to the complexity and constant changes in the subject matter, we must exclude any liability and warranty.<\/p>\n

If you need legal advice, feel free to call us at 0221 \u2013 80187670 or email us at info@mth-partner.de.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oberlandesgericht D\u00fcsseldorf, 05.10.2010, Az.: I-20 U 180\/09 Die Bewerbung von Produkten oder Dienstleistungen ist in Deutschland an enge Voraussetzungen gekn\u00fcpft. Gem. \u00a7 5 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 des Gesetzes gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG) ist eine gesch\u00e4ftliche Handlung irref\u00fchrend, wenn sie unwahre Angaben oder sonstige zur T\u00e4uschung geeignete Angaben \u00fcber wesentliche Merkmale der Ware oder […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11617,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wettbewerbsrecht-anwalt"],"yoast_head":"\nWettbewerbsrecht: Irref\u00fchrende Werbung aufgrund unzutreffender Materialangabe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Die Bewerbung von Produkten oder Dienstleistungen ist in Deutschland an enge Voraussetzungen gekn\u00fcpft.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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