Question
A competitor is sending emails to our customers that defame our product and present their product as more advantageous. How can we defend ourselves?
The answer
Another form of unfair competition is disparagement. Disparagement is conduct by which a competitor discloses or disseminates false information about another competitor’s circumstances, products or services that could harm that competitor.
Unfair competition is a practice that satisfies all three basic conceptual characteristics, namely:
1. it is a competitive behavior,
2. the conduct is contrary to the morality of competition and
3. the procedure is likely to harm other competitors or consumers.
Ad 1 / In order to answer the question of whether the behavior of the competitor was a matter of competitive proceedings, it is decisive whether the individual case concerned a competitive relationship between different competitors. This relationship can be defined, among other things, in such a way that the competitor brings identical, comparable or interchangeable products onto the market. Competitors do not have to be direct competitors. Competitors are all companies engaged in similar economic activities. To assess whether the behavior of a particular company is competitive behavior, whether it is behavior that is carried out with a competitive intent.
Ad 2 / Competitive morality includes behavior that is sound according to principles of good morals but may be wrong under the stricter aspect of competitive morality. Therefore, the benchmark is moral opinions, customs, habits, cultivated by all fair, honest, honest and conscientious participants in the competition.
Ad 3 / The damage can be both material and immaterial, and it is sufficient if the damage is potentially imminent, it does not have to occur.
We therefore recommend that you consult a good lawyer in this case, who will help you to formulate an appropriate lawsuit with which you can remedy the situation. Depending on the circumstances of the individual case, the interrupter may be required to refrain from certain proceedings and seek redress, or to seek equitable satisfaction, compensation, or the delivery of unjust enrichment.
Answer according to the current legal status valid on 23/06/2022.