Competition Law Aspects

Competition law addresses both the law of unfair competition and antitrust law. We provide advice on all aspects of competition law.

Competition law protects against unfair competition.

Competition law aims to protect both consumers and competitors from unfair competitive practices. Thus, the primary objective of competition law is to combat unfair competition, specifically anti-competitive advertising measures, untrue or misleading information, statements damaging to business, and similar market behavior unrelated to performance. Competitors already established in the market therefore often monitor their rivals for competition law infringements to avoid suffering disadvantages.

Consequences of Competition Law Violations

The consequence of a competition law violation is usually a costly warning letter (Abmahnung) with a request to submit a cease and desist declaration. Many cease and desist declarations are often formulated in such a way that signing them makes a future violation foreseeable, inevitably incurring contractual penalties. To avoid such far-reaching disadvantages, legal advice should be sought before signing a cease and desist declaration.

Common grounds for warning letters in competition law:

Competition law warning letter concerning advertising/slogans
Warning letter regarding information obligations
Warning letter regarding legal notice/Telemedia Act
Warning letter regarding right of withdrawal/cancellation policy/return policy
Warning letter regarding General Terms and Conditions
Warning letter regarding price indications

Our services in competition law.

We advise and represent clients in the following areas, among others:

Judicial enforcement and defense of competition law cease and desist claims
Warning letters
Defense against warning letters
Defense against abusive warning letters
Advertising law for specific professional groups, such as doctors, tax advisors, etc.
Consulting on business ideas
Reviewing websites for violations of competition law