Calling to Advertise

Can you admonish and demand forbearance when somebody calls you to double check the data of your free entry in a search engine. The BGH answers this question in its judgment of September 20, 2007 (re I ZR 88/05).

The representative of a search engine called the plaintiff to allegedly explore if the entered data was correct. This, however, was only used as a pretext to persuade the entered company to advertise through a paid advertisement. (§§3, 7 I no. 2 UWG). Following this law, calling a business for advertisement purposes can be an unreasonable disturbance in competition, when the caller cannot assume in advance, that the person called will okay the call. This depends on how intensive the business relationship is. Giving a free entry into a search engine, might justify to call and double check the contact details. However such relationship does not justify the assumption the person called will accept the call, when the aims to lure the potential customer to order.

Remark:

A sufficient interest that justifies a cold call can be assumed when a factual connection to an existing business relationship can be assumed.

Published on the old CMS: 2008/8/3
Read on the old CMS till November 2008: 2,067 reads