Oikeuskäytäntö

  • Tapaustiedot
    • Kansallinen tunniste: MAO:797/15
    • Jäsenvaltio: Suomi
    • Lyhytnimi:N/A
    • Päätöksen tyyppi: Tuomioistuimen päätös, 1. oikeusaste
    • Päätöksen päivämäärä: 12/11/2015
    • Tuomioistuin: Markkinaoikeus
    • Aihe:
    • Kantaja: Scanoffice Oy
    • Vastaaja: Robert Bosch Oy
    • Avainsanat: comparative advertising, consumer, unfair commercial practices
  • Direktiivin artiklat
    Misleading and Comparative Advertising Directive, link
  • Ylähuomautus
    Marketing is misleading, if a product of a competing company is not specified but there is a reference to a magazine in which the product is specified.
  • Taustatiedot
    The plaintiff and the defendant are competing companies and carry on consumer directed air source heat pump marketing. The plaintiff markets a brand called Mitsubishi Electronic and the defendant markets a brand called Bosch. The defendant has referred, in its marketing, to a test concerning the heating capacity and energy consumption of air source heat pumps on a building trade magazine which says that the defendant’s product is a test-winner. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has taken part to a test, where the brand is shortened to Mitsubishi. The magazine states that the said brand is not Mitsubishi Electronic and it has not taken part in the test. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Electronic are two different commercial brands and they are not interconnected to each other. The air source heat pumps of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries have a small market share whereas the air source heat pumps of Mitsubishi Electronic have a strong and stable position in the market. The defendant has referred to the published test but it does not directly appear in the defendant’s marketing that the Mitsubishi presented in the test is specifically Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. According to the plaintiff, the defendant’s marketing is prohibited comparative marketing and it must be prohibited on pain of a 100,000 Euro fine. The defendant claims that the action is dismissed.
  • Oikeudellinen kysymys
    Is marketing misleading, if a product of a competing company is not specified in the marketing, but there is a reference to a magazine in which the product is specified?
  • Ratkaisu

    The Market Court states that the definition of the comparative marketing referred to in section 2 a of the Unfair Business Practices Act is intended to be extensive. The provision shall also be applied in a case where the competing company only indirectly appears in the marketing. According to the legal praxis, the demanded accuracy of the comparative marketing is set strict, because it may mislead the consumers and cause damage to the business of the competing company. It may also be misleading if an essential fact is excluded in the marketing. The Market Court considers that the marketing in question is comparative marketing referred to in section 2 a, in which case it shall be evaluated whether the marketing is misleading in terms of the consumers.

    The expressions used in the marketing shall be evaluated based on the over-all impression from the point of view of the marketing’s target group. The article in the magazine is not misleading but the Market Court states that the reference used in the defendant’s marketing is not adequate to avoid misleading the consumers. Therefore, the Market Court considers that the marketing has been likely to mislead consumers. The defendant is liable for its marketing. When taking into consideration the competitive position of companies, the defendant’s marketing has been likely to cause damage to the plaintiff.

    URL: http://www.markkinaoikeus.fi/fi/index/paatokset/markkinaoikeudellisetasiat/markkinaoikeudellisetasiat/1447843888466.html

    Koko teksti: Koko teksti

  • Asiaan liittyvät tapaukset

    Ei tuloksia saatavilla

  • Oikeuskirjallisuus

    Ei tuloksia saatavilla

  • Hakutulos
    The Market Court prohibits the defendant from continuing or renewing the marketing in question on pain of a 100,000 Euro fine.