Case detail
| Directive article |
Article 6 1. Annex I al1 15. |
National ID | 6 U 79/09 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Germany | Decision date | 18/09/2009 |
| Common name | Die letzten 6 Ausverkaufstage | Decision type | Court decision in appeal |
| Court | Oberlandesgericht - OLG (Köln) | Plaintiff(s) | carpet dealer - name not disclosed |
| Court translation | Higher Regional Court (Cologne) | Defendant(s) | carpet dealer - name not disclosed |
| Subject | clearance sale | ||
| Keywords | black list, clearance sale, misleading advertising | ||
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Headnote
Continuing a business after the date for which a clearance sale has been announced, constitutes a misleading commercial practice under the German Unfair Competition Act.
Facts
The defendant advertised a total clearance sale in a newspaper with the wording: "The last 6 closing sale days. THE END! OVER! PAST! Total Clearance. Last Call!", but did not close the shop after the announced six days.
The defendant stated that he had the intention to close the shop at the time the advertisement of the clearance sale was placed in the newspaper, but changed his mind shortly before the end of the clearance sale.
The plaintiff requested a cease-and-desist order for the contested advertisement.
Legal issue
Does a qualification as a misleading commercial practice require that the shop owner had the intention to continue his business at the time an advertisement for a clearance sale was placed, or is it already a violation of the (national implementation of the) UCP Directive if the shop owner does not close his shop after the advertised closing date, even if he had the intention of closing it when placing the advertisement?
Decision
In order to qualify as a misleading advertisement according to § 5 UWG, the intentions of the advertiser are irrelevant. If a shop owner does not close his shop after the end of an announced total clearance sale, § 5 I Nr. 2 UWG (the German Unfair Competition Act) is violated, irrespective of the fact that the owner only decided not to give up his shop after he started advertising the total clearance sale.
| URL Decision | Decision full text | |
|---|---|---|
| DE | N/A | |
| EN | N/A |
Result
The plaintiff's request was granted.
Additional information
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| There is no events for this case. | ||
Related case(s)
| National ID | Common Name | Subject | Country | Link type |
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| There is no related cases for this case. | ||||
Legal Literature
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