Many companies like to advertise with customer reviews. However, there are certain principles as to what is permissible and what is not, as this can sometimes be misleading and therefore inadmissible under competition law. The BGH has now also ruled on this (BGH, judgment of July 25, 2024 – I ZR 143/23).
What is essential information?
Pursuant to § Section 5a para. 1 UWG, anyone who misleads a consumer or other market participant by withholding material information which the consumer or other market participant needs in the circumstances to make an informed transactional decision and the withholding of which is likely to cause the consumer or other market participant to take a transactional decision that they would not otherwise have taken is acting unfairly. Such material information may also include missing information in advertising, as this may give rise to misconceptions on the part of the consumer. However, not all useful information is also material information.
Requirements for advertising with customer reviews
The BGH has now ruled that it is permissible to advertise with an average customer rating, even without providing information on the total number or period of reviews taken into account. This would not constitute material information within the meaning of Section 5a UWG. This is because the average consumer knows that an average star rating is made up of positive and negative reviews and that individual bad reviews are possible even with a high average rating. As the average consumer is aware of this, it is not necessary to break down the composition of the average rating individually.
Different standards for advertising with test seals
However, this case law should not be applied to advertising with test results or test seals. Consumers regularly have a great interest in finding out how the test result is composed and how the tested product compares with other products. In order to be able to evaluate the quality rating associated with a test seal, it must therefore be possible to verify the framework conditions and the content of the product test. The situation is different in the case of advertising with customer ratings: here, the consumer knows that the ratings are based on subjective and inconsistent standards and that there are no specific evaluation criteria.