In its ruling of 10.03.2017 (Ref.: 6 U 124/16), the Higher Regional Court of Cologne once again dealt with the advertising of internet providers. According to the ruling, advertising with the slogan “Surfing the fastest network in town” and “more than any other provider” is anti-competitive and therefore inadmissible if the advertising provider does not permanently provide a faster internet speed than other providers. Advertising is only permitted if the speed advantage is clear and of a certain duration.
“Surfing the fastest network in town” as advertising
An internet provider in Cologne advertised its own internet as the fastest network in the city. It used the slogan “Surf the city’s fastest network now“. The provider continued: “It already enables high-speed Internet with up to 400 Mbit/s – more than any other provider in Cologne.”
A competing telecommunications provider considered the advertising to be misleading and anti-competitive. The advertising with the unique selling point of transmission speed violated Section 5 UWG and was therefore inadmissible. The competing provider also planned to launch a comparable offer in Cologne a few days after the advertising.
OLG Cologne: Slogan is misleading and therefore inadmissible
The OLG followed the opinion of the lower court (Regional Court of Cologne, judgment of 29.06.2016 – 84 O 52/16). The internet provider’s advertising with the unique selling point was to be regarded as misleading under competition law and was therefore inadmissible.
Even if the provider was the fastest provider on the market at the time the advertisement was placed, such advertising is only permissible if this speed advantage is very clear and also of a longer duration.
If a competitor enters the market only a short time later with the same unique selling points, advertising with these superlatives is generally inadmissible. This is because internet contracts in particular are based on a multi-year contract commitment, which is why consumers must enjoy special protection against misleading advertising.