Unfair competition

Unfair competition is any form of competition that is not limited to performance (such as the quality of the product, price, service) as a permissible means of dealing with the competition, but uses unfair behavior. Which practices are unfair is primarily regulated by the UWG.
Anyone who tries to beat the competitor out of the field through deception and misleading as well as other acts that violate common decency can be sued for injunctive relief and damages according to § 1 of the law against unfair competition of June 7, 1909. Under certain circumstances, there is even a criminal act (Sections 4, 12, 15, 17 UWG) or an administrative offense (Sections 8, 14 UWG).

Violations of the principles of fair competition include:

Use of a well-established or similar-sounding company name;

Use of an established and legally protected description of goods;

Disseminating incorrect information about one's own business relationships, especially about the nature, origin, method of manufacture or pricing of goods, about the purpose of the sale, about the quantity of stocks or about the possession of awards, in order to give the appearance of a particularly favorable one To evoke the offer;

Verbreitung unwahrer Behauptungen über das Erwerbsgeschäft eines anderen, über die Person des Inhabers oder Leiters des Geschäfts, über die Waren eines anderen, die geeignet sind den business des Geschäfts oder den Kredit des Inhabers zu schädigen (anzuschwärzen) ;
Misleading information about one's own business and the nature of goods in order to create the appearance of a particularly favorable offer;

Deteriorating competitors by comparing their goods or services with those of the competition in a hidden or open manner in order to highlight their own performance and degrade that of the competitor (comparative advertising);
Bribing employees of other companies by giving bribes or gifts in order to find out sources of supply, customers, place of manufacture of products, organization and the like;

Sending unordered goods;

Zum Wettbewerbsrecht gehören auch das Rabattgesetz, die Zugabe-Verordnung. das Trademark Law, das Gebrauchsmustergesetz. das Patentgesetz sowie das Gesetz betreffend das Urheberrecht an Mustern und Modellen.