The 20th Civil Senate of the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court (OLG Düsseldorf) ruled in an injunction proceeding that a defendant ghostwriter may not advertise on his website that he is "one of the market leaders" in the field of academic ghostwriting.
The defendant had presented himself on his website as one of the market leaders in academic ghostwriting. For instance, depending on the scope, he charged approximately between €10,000 and €20,000 for a dissertation. Furthermore, on his website, the defendant had indicated that the service was solely for academic texts intended for practice purposes, and that the created works were not to be submitted as original examination performances at a university.
The plaintiff, also a ghostwriter who offers the creation of other academic texts for companies and institutions, challenged the defendant's claim of being a market leader. The defendant did not belong to the top tier, neither by revenue nor by the scope of his services. The Wuppertal Regional Court had rejected the application for an injunction on July 6, 2010 (file reference 11 O 49/10).
On February 8, 2011, the 20th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court, acting on the plaintiff's appeal, prohibited the defendant from advertising with the claim that he was a market leader. The defendant could not be considered among the market leaders in academic ghostwriting precisely because he exclusively offered prohibited services, namely the creation of theses for third parties to obtain academic degrees. The disclaimer on the website, stating that the works were to be used solely for practice purposes, was evidently not serious. It was unrealistic that someone would pay more than €10,000 for a mere practice text.
The decision is legally binding.
Judgment of the 20th Civil Senate of the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court of February 8, 2011, file reference I-20 U 116/10
Source: Press release of the OLG Düsseldorf
Attorney Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist Lawyer for Information Technology Law (IT Law)
Email: info@goldberg.de
