Rechtsprechung

  • Rechtssachenbeschreibung
    • Nationale Kennung: 4Ob76/12y
    • Mitgliedstaat: Österreich
    • Gebräuchliche Bezeichnung:Media‑Analyse II
    • Art des Beschlusses: Beschluss des Obersten Gerichts
    • Beschlussdatum: 10/07/2012
    • Gericht: Oberster Gerichtshof (Wien)
    • Betreff:
    • Kläger: Unknown
    • Beklagter: Unknown
    • Schlagworte: trader, unfair competition
  • Artikel der Richtlinie
    Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Chapter 2, Article 5, 1.
  • Leitsatz
    An assessment of the amount of consumers using the product of a trader and its competitors, is suitable to affect the competition between traders and could thus be subject to the rules regarding unfair commercial practices in case the assessment would not be properly conducted.
  • Sachverhalt
    The plaintiff is the owner of the monthly magazine "H***" and a member of the association which conducts an annual media analysis, i.e. the defendant.

    The media analysis of the defendant is an ultimate analysis of readership in Austria and is considered as an essential criterion of successfulness of media companies. The defendant determined for the year 2006 the following values: S*****: 315.000 readers (4,6 %), W*****: 158.000 readers (2,3 %), B*****: 169.000 readers (2,4 %), H*****: 72.000 readers (1,0 %).

    The plaintiff requested that the defendant cease and desist to publish such analysis in respect to the competitors "S" and "W", as the case may be with the limitations in respect to verifiability of the number of readers per copy. The plaintiff in principle claimed that the analysis was incorrect as it assumed or ascertained too high reader-per-copy ratio for "S" and "W", and such analysis promoted the competition of "S" and "W".

    The first instance judge and the court of appeal both denied the plaintiff's claim, as the falseness of the analysis could not be proven.

     
  • Rechtsfrage
    Is an assessment of the amount of consumers using the product of a trader and its competitors, subject to the rules regarding unfair commercial practices in case the assessment would not be properly conducted?
  • Entscheidung

    The Supreme Court addressed in its decision the competition law issue and ascertained that such media analysis constitutes a potentially misleading commercial practice as it is undoubtedly suitable to affect competition between traders.

    Unlike under the previous legislation, so the Court considered, the legislation implementing the UCP Directive does not require specific intention to promote the competitors.

    As to whether the defendant's report should be considered to be misleading, the first instance court had failed, so said the Supreme Court, to gather sufficient evidence (an expert opinion regarding the reader-per-copy ratios). Consequently,  the Supreme Court could not address this issue and referred the case back to the first instance court.

     

    Volltext: Volltext

  • Verbundene Rechtssachen

    Keine Ergebnisse verfügbar

  • Rechtsliteratur

    Keine Ergebnisse verfügbar

  • Ergebnis
    The case was readmitted to the first instance court to gather sufficient evidence to assess whether the practice is misleading.