The court first stated that according to the principles of freedom of enterprise and freedom of competition, mere acts of competition such as contacting the clients of a competitor or winning them over cannot be considered per se a conduct contrary to good faith or fair competition principles.
In a well-functioning market, the court continued, companies need experienced employees in the sector, and making a better offer to the employees of a competitor is not considered an unfair practice. Under Spanish law, inducing into a normal termination of a contract, or unfairly benefiting from a contractual breach (especially if the goal is to disclose or make use of an industrial or trade secret, or to deceive or eliminate a competitor or similar) will be deemed to be an unfair competition practice.
In addition, the defendant's role in the plaintiff's company would have not allowed him to establish professional or personal relations with real estate owners and/ or to have influenced them in a significant manner for business purposes.
The Court decided that the conduct of the defendant was not anti-competitive, and ruled in favor of the appeal filed by the defendant, rejecting the conclusions and decision issued by the lower Court.
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