Imprint must be easily legible

A breach of the imprint requirement can result in competition law cease and desist letters. This was also the case in a matter that the Regional Court (LG) Dortmund had to decide. Specifically, the case concerned the legibility of the imprint in promotional brochure advertising.

A specialist hearing aid shop had distributed brochures for hearing aids as direct mail. The imprint was located on the last page of the four-page advertisement in portrait orientation on the left margin in font size 7. The imprint was printed in white text on a light background.

This advertising was challenged by the plaintiff as being inadequate because the information was not clear and not easily findable. When the company refused to provide an undertaking following a corresponding cease and desist letter, proceedings were brought before the LG Dortmund.

The hearing aid company maintained that the information was sufficiently legible and argued that because of the brevity of the information, it could be read without rotating the brochure; however, the brochure could also be easily rotated due to its format.

The court's decision on the imprint

The LG Dortmund followed the plaintiff's line of reasoning and upheld a breach of the information obligations of the defendant company.

The judges in Dortmund decided by means of Urteil vom 16.03.2016 – Az. 10 O 81/15 that poor legibility of the information identifying the provider on an advertising brochure constitutes a breach of competition law. This is because the required information is deemed to be 'missing' even if it is present but not sufficiently legible.

The perception for a consumer with normal eyesight would already be substantially impaired by the fact that this text was printed in portrait orientation in relation to the rest of the text. The rotation of the brochure necessary for this purpose constitutes an impediment to perception.

Furthermore, the information was placed in such an unexpected position and in such a colour design that the reader would have no reason to rotate the brochure at all.

The LG Dortmund finally added that the type would be covered at least predominantly by the left thumb when reading the last page.

Conclusion

In order to avoid competition law cease and desist letters, the imprint should be reviewed from a legal perspective. We are happy to review whether your imprint complies with the legal requirements.