Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb V Clinique Laboratories Snc Et Estée Lauder Gmbh [1994]

Summary

Limitations of space in a print advertisement may warrant information on the supplier being provided only upon access to the online sales platform provided that that information was communicated simply and quickly on that platform. The ECJ was requested by a German court to provide a preliminary ruling concerning the interpretation of Directive 2005/29 art.7(4). The request was made in proceedings between Verband Sozialer Wettbewerb eV (VSW) and DHL Paket GmbH concerning a request seeking that the latter be ordered to cease the dissemination of an advertisement in a print medium. The dispute concerned an advertisement published in the weekly Bild am Sonntag at the request of DHL Paket, the operator of the online sales platform MeinPaket.de on which commercial sellers offer products for sale. That advertisement presented five different products and interested customers were invited to enter the code corresponding to the product referred to in the advertisement. Such customers would then transferred to the site of the product concerned where the identity of the commercial seller of that product was mentioned. Under the heading…