In its judgement of 2 April 2009 - Case No. 4 U 213/08 (final and absolute), the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Hamm ruled that the omission of the commercial register, the corresponding number and the VAT identification number in the imprint is a warning. If this information is missing, it is also not an unremarkable petty offence.
In the aforementioned case, the defendant was admonished for infringement of Section 5 of the German Telemedia Act (TMG) and Sections 312 c of the German Civil Code (BGB) and 1 of the German Information Regulation (Info-VO) for failure to provide the commercial register and the corresponding number and for failure to provide the VAT identification number pursuant to the German Turnover Tax Act (UStG) or a business identity number pursuant to the German Tax Code (AO).
The Higher Regional Court of Hamm found that the warning was justified.
The Higher Regional Court of Hamm found that the omission of the commercial register, the corresponding number and the VAT identification number in the imprint constituted a violation of § 312 c BGB in conjunction with § 5 I No. 4, 6 TMG. It further held that the aforementioned provisions were market conduct regulations within the meaning of § 4 no. 11 UWG. The required information duties served consumer protection and the transparency of commercially provided teleservices. With regard to the VAT identification number, which primarily serves the tax authorities, the OLG Hamm took into account that, according to the legislative intent of a competitive, uniform and transparent external presentation, its disclosure was also owed for the protection of market participants.
The OLG Hamm also held that the aforementioned regulations were not merely petty infringements within the meaning of Section 3 I UWG.
Judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Hamm of 02.04.2009, Ref.: 4 U 213/08 (legally binding)
It can therefore only be recommended to all entrepreneurs to check the imprints of their websites to see whether both the commercial register with the corresponding number and the VAT identification number are present in the imprint. Since errors in the imprint are clear and easy to detect, such violations are also frequently warned.
If you have any doubts as to whether your imprint and your entire internet presence comply with the currently applicable regulations, we are happy to check your internet pages for legal compliance at flat rates and fixed prices.
Goldberg - Lawyers
Attorney at Law Michael Ullrich, LL.M. (Information Law)
Specialist lawyer for information technology law (IT law)
E-mail: info@goldberg.de
