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In a decision given at the beginning of February this year, the Federal Court ( Bundesgerichtshof - BGH) abandoned its previous position that comparative advertising violated Section 1 of the Unfair Competition Act ( Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb - UWG) and was thus on principal unlawful (see IRIS 1998-3:3). In reaching its decision, it relied on Directive 97/55/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 1997, amending Directive 84/450/EEC concerning misleading advertising ( see IRIS 1997-10: 4), so as to include comparative advertising - and did so before the time allowed...

On 20 May 1998, the Nuremberg-Fürth Regional Court upheld an earlier decision of 18 February 1998, forbidding a lawyer to advertise his services with the help of an Internet guest-book. This judgment refers to a lawyer with a homepage guest-book, on which anyone can enter information, which is then open to inspection by all other users. The lawyer concerned claims that he does not use his guest-book to advertise. It does not serve to collect commissions and addresses, but as a means of communication, like letters, telephone or fax. He also points out that, under the professional rules applying...

In December 1997, the Traunstein Regional Court set a precedent by prohibiting the sending of unsolicited e-mail advertising via the Internet, and the Regional Court in Berlin has now given two decisions which follow the same line. For a long time already, the courts have consistently upheld that the sending of unsolicited advertising matter and prospectuses by fax violates Section 1 of the Unfair Competition Act ( Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb - UWG) and also Article 823 I of the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch - BGB), when the recipient has not consented or his consent cannot be...

In a joint position of the Federal Republic and the Länder passed on to the Commission, the Federal Republic of Germany basically welcomes the initiative of the European Commission in tabling a Green Paper on "convergence of the telecommunications, media and information technology sectors and its regulatory implications". It is stressed that the purpose of the Green Paper is to trigger an essential discussion procedure at European level, as convergence - as an important phenomenon of the information society - can open up prospects for diversity of opinion, plurality and more competition and, as...

The fifteen Land media authorities, which are responsible for supervising private broadcasting, have issued new joint guidelines on advertising, to ensure separation of advertising and programme material, and on television and radio sponsorship. Adopted on 16 December 1997, the new regulations have been in force since 21 April 1998. They implement Article 46 of the Agreement between Federal States on Broadcasting (Rundfunkstaatsvertrages - RStV), which requires the Land media authorities to introduce such regulations. The advertising guidelines embody the law's requirements concerning the use of...