Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Chapter 2, Section 1, Article 6, 1., (b) Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Chapter 2, Section 1, Article 7, 1. Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, Chapter 2, Section 1, Article 7, 4., (a)

The omission to inform the consumer on technical product specifications, even in the event the trader is not specialist in this matter, constitutes a misleading commercial practice.

The plaintiff claimed that the defendant was selling computers that were pre-equipped with an operating system without informing consumers of the terms of use related to the pre-installed software.

According to the plaintiff, the defendant thus concealed "essential" information to customers in violation of article L. 121-1 of the French Consumer Code, which would have been useful to them in order to make their transactional decision.

The court of appeal had ruled that a professional trader, which is not specialized, did not need to inform consumers on the terms of use of the pre-installed software.

The plaintiff filed an appeal against this decision with the Supreme Court.

 

The court, interpreting article L. 121-1 of the French Consumer Code, ruled that information which relates to the technical specifications of a computer that is pre-equipped with an operating system and software must be provided by any professional trader to the average consumer because (i) it is material information and (ii) it can help him make his transactional decision.

Does the omission of a trader, even in the event the trader is not specialist in this matter, to inform the consumer on technical product specifications, constitute a misleading commercial practice?

URL: http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichJuriJudi.do?oldAction=rechJuriJudi&idTexte=JURITEXT000024648294&fastReqId=2029716515&fastPos=1#

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The plaintiff's request was granted.