Facts
The case concerns a public limited company, the "Gemeinschaft", which filed a complaint for unfair competition against institutes X. and Y. as well as against company Z. S.A. The Gemeinschaft used the name "A" in its company name and in its advertisements, which was considered unfair competition by institutes X. and Y. Company Z. S.A. was deleted from the commercial register in 1971 due to its bankruptcy.
Institutes X. and Y. filed a criminal complaint against the Gemeinschaft for unfair competition, but company Z. S.A. was unable to file a criminal complaint due to its deletion. The question arises as to whether company Z. S.A. can still file a criminal complaint for acts of unfair competition committed after its deletion.
The court examined the issue of the capacity of company Z. S.A. to file a criminal complaint and concluded that the company no longer had the capacity to file a criminal complaint due to its deletion. The court also examined the issue of the statute of limitations of the criminal complaint and concluded that the complaint was time-barred.
Considerations
The court applied articles 28 and 13 of the Unfair Competition Act (UCA) to determine whether company Z. S.A. had the capacity to file a criminal complaint. The court considered that company Z. S.A. no longer had the capacity to file a criminal complaint due to its deletion, as it was no longer a competitor on the market.
The court also examined the issue of the statute of limitations of the criminal complaint and concluded that the complaint was time-barred. The court applied articles 2 and 13 of the UCA to determine whether institutes X. and Y. had the capacity to file a criminal complaint. The court considered that institutes X. and Y. had the capacity to file a…