Competition law

Competition law serves the purpose of protecting competitors and consumers against unfair commercial practices. However, the matters are not as easy as this definition set forth in Section 1 UWG [Act against Unfair Competition] implies:

In many cases, such as for example cases regarding the obligation to inform consumers, the legal situation is so complicated that even experts have difficulties defining the boundaries of unfairness. In other fields of competition law, like for example in the fields of slavish imitation or obstructive competition, the assessment of the facts depends on many different pieces of background information and the presentation thereof by the lawyers involved in the dispute.

In other words: competition law is a real challenge for lawyers and we are willing to accept this challenge. Every year we represent a medium double-digit number of claimants or defendants in competition disputes before courts throughout Germany.

Our competition-related services also focus on advising our clients on extrajudicial solutions. When representing the claimant, we aim to exactly determine the claimant's interests to find a precise wording for the claims as well as the right approach with respect to judicial proceedings later on. When, however, representing the addressee of the claim we carefully consider whether it makes sense for the client – particularly in economic terms – to seek settlement by the courts or whether it is more reasonable to settle the matter in the scope of the warning procedure.

For questions concerning competition law, please contact Dr. Schmitt-Gaedke (schmitt-gaedke@lex.tm).