Judgment on the Unfairness of Advertising and Claims for Damages

Facts

Dipl. Ing. Fust AG, an electronics retailer, is suing Media Markt Video-TV-Hifi-Elektro-Computer-Foto AG for unfair advertising. Fust AG accuses Media Markt of having advertised unfairly with slogans such as "Media Markt is 70,000 times cheaper" and other advertising statements, thereby causing it damage. The Commercial Court of Zurich dismissed the claim, as Fust AG had not sufficiently substantiated the resulting damage. Fust AG then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court confirms the judgment of the Commercial Court. It sees doubts as to whether the slogan "Media Markt is 70,000 times cheaper" is to be assessed as unfair, as this would be understood by the average addressee rather as a market-centric exaggeration than as an objectively verifiable statement. However, this can ultimately be left open, as Fust AG was unable to sufficiently demonstrate the damage caused by Media Markt's conduct. The Federal Supreme Court…