Infringement of competitionß

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Competition law infringements harm fair competition! Our team of experienced competition lawyers will fight any infringement of competition law for you quickly and effectively.

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Infringement of competition law

Wettbewerbsverstöße von Mitbewerbern können die eigene Marktposition gefährden und zu erheblichen wirtschaftlichen Nachteilen führen. Wettbewerbsverstöße schädigen redliche Mitbewerber und Verbraucher. Um zu verhindern, dass sich Unternehmen unlautere Vorteile verschaffen, ist es sinnvoll, aktiv gegen unlauteren Wettbewerb vorzugehen. So kann die Einhaltung der gesetzlichen Wettbewerbsregeln schnell und effizient durchgesetzt werden. Dies geschieht in der Regel zunächst durch eine wettbewerbsrechtliche Abmahnung und notfalls gerichtlich durch eine einstweilige Verfügung oder eine Klage.

Examples of breaches of competition law

Whether a company’s conduct is anti-competitive or not must be examined on a case-by-case basis. However, there are numerous examples of unfair conduct by companies:

Advertising with misleading statements, e.g. about prices, quality or the company
Withholding essential information
Discrimination against customers due to inadmissible terms and conditions
Inadmissible comparative advertising
Violation of product-related regulations, e.g. product safety
Obstruction of competitors

Competition law claims

Ansprüche aus Wettbewerbsrecht können in Deutschland nur von Mitbewerbern oder befugten Verbänden, wie Wettbewerbs- oder Verbraucherschutzverbänden, geltend gemacht werden. Grundsätzlich stehen bei einem Wettbewerbsverstoß folgende Ansprüche zu:

be enforced with a cease and desist letter and, if necessary, an injunction or lawsuit.

Injunctive relief:
The injunctive relief serves to prevent further infringements in the future. The infringer must refrain from continuing the anti-competitive situation or repeating the infringement. Out of court, the claim is fulfilled by submitting a cease-and-desist declaration with a penalty clause.
Removal claim:
The removal claim serves to eliminate existing faults or their consequences. This may also involve a recall or the destruction of goods or advertising material.
Claim for damages:
The claim for damages serves to compensate for damages incurred as a result of the infringement. Financial losses caused by the anti-competitive infringement are compensated. However, it is usually difficult or impossible to put a concrete figure on the damage.
Information and accounting claims:
The right to information and, if applicable, accounting serves to determine and quantify damages. Information must be provided on the type, scope and duration of the infringement and, if necessary, an invoice must be issued. In addition, there is a right to the submission of supporting documents such as invoices, delivery bills and orders in order to be able to verify the information.
Profit skimming:
The right to profit skimming can be used to skim off unfairly generated profits (in the case of infringements that reach a certain level of materiality) for the benefit of the federal budget. This is intended to prevent unfair competition from becoming profitable.
Kostenerstattung der Abmahnung:
Der Kostenerstattungsanspruch dient der Entlastung des Mitbewerbers, der gegen einen Wettbewerbsverstoß vorgeht, in dem er vom Rechtsverletzer im Falle einer berechtigten Abmahnung die damit verbundenen Kosten (z.B. Rechtsanwaltskosten, Testkaufkosten) erstattet verlangen kann.

How we enforce competition law claims

We check whether your competitor is violating applicable law, document the violations and develop targeted strategies to stop them quickly and effectively. Our law firm offers you a range of services specially tailored to the prosecution of competition law infringements:

Examination and analysis:
We carefully examine whether the infringements complained of constitute breaches of competition law.
Strategic advice:
We advise you on the best possible and most economically sensible strategy to remedy the competition law infringements.
Documentation and preservation of evidence:
We document the identified violations in a court of law as a basis for successful legal enforcement.
Preparation and sending of cease and desist letters:
As a rule, we first send a cease and desist letter under competition law, in which we ask the competitor to refrain from the illegal conduct. The cease and desist letter regularly asserts claims for injunctive relief, information, damages and reimbursement of the cease and desist letter costs. The cease and desist letter under competition law serves as a first step towards out-of-court clarification and enables the ceased and desist letter recipient to avoid court proceedings by submitting a cease and desist letter with a penalty clause and fulfilling the other claims.
Initiation of legal action:
If the cease and desist letter is not responded to adequately, we will quickly initiate legal action – whether by means of an injunction or a lawsuit – in order to consistently enforce your competition law claims.
Enforcement of claims for injunctive relief:
If a competitor repeatedly infringes, even though he has already undertaken to cease and desist or has been ordered to do so, we will enforce claims for contractual penalties or administrative remedies on your behalf.

Our expertise – your advantage

Our law firm has many years of experience in the prosecution of competition law infringements. Our specialized attorneys combine sound legal expertise with practice-oriented strategies to successfully prosecute even complex unfair competition cases. You benefit from this:

Legal expertise:
Regular training and an intensive exchange within our professional network ensure that we are always informed about the latest developments in competition law.
Experience before courts nationwide:
We have successfully represented our clients before courts throughout Germany for many years and therefore have many years of experience in dealing with the courts in competition law and their judicial practice.
Individual support:
We provide you with individual support and develop customized solutions that are precisely tailored to your needs and specific requirements.
Success-oriented action:
Our aim is to enforce your claims quickly and sustainably and to consistently prevent unfair competition.