Conviction for unfair competition through media reporting

Facts

The case concerns an article in the Swiss Bodensee-Zeitung newspaper dated October 19, 1988, written by editor X. about the situation at the "Bernina" sewing machine factory Fritz Gegauf AG. The article included statements by sewing machine expert Z., who portrayed the "Bernina" sewing machine factory as technically outdated compared to the competing brands "Pfaff" and "Elna".

The High Court of the Canton of Thurgau convicted X. of a violation of the Federal Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) under Art. 3 lit. a and 23 UWG and imposed a fine. X. appealed the judgment with a constitutional appeal and a federal nullity appeal.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court first examined whether the UWG is also applicable to media reporting. It concluded that the scope of the UWG, according to the objectives of the law and the explanations in the Federal Council's message, is to be understood broadly and also covers third parties such as the media and consumer organizations.

With regard to the specific statements in the newspaper article, the Federal Supreme Court found that they were partially incorrect, but not to be classified as "unnecessarily injurious" within the meaning of Art. 3 lit.…