Again and again, one reads the reference "CE-tested" and/or "CE-certified" in the product descriptions of offers in online shops.
If you use one of these designations in the context of product representations, you may be threatened with a warning under competition law. Numerous courts have considered the advertising statement "CE-tested" and/or "CE-certification" to be anti-competitive(OLG Frankfurt, judgement of 21.06.2012, ref. 6 U 24/11; Landgericht Münster, judgement of 02.09.2010, ref. 25 O 85/10; Landgericht Stendal, judgement of 02.09.2010, ref. 25 O 85/10; OLG Düsseldorf, judgement of 25.02.2016, ref. I-15 U 58/15; LG Darmstadt, judgement of 19.02.2010, ref. 15 O 327/09).
The reason given was that the advertising statement "CE-tested" gives the consumer the impression that the advertised product represents something special compared to the competition. However, this is not the case, since products may only be marketed in the European Single Market, e.g. according to § 6 of the Equipment and Product Safety Act, if they bear the CE mark. The advertising statement "CE-tested" therefore constitutes advertising with self-evident facts and is therefore misleading.
Furthermore, the designation "CE-tested" also gives the impression that the advertised goods have been subjected to an inspection by a body independent of the manufacturer. However, this impression is also incorrect because the manufacturer merely confirms the conformity of his product with the relevant EC provisions by affixing the CE mark. Consequently, the CE marking is affixed by the manufacturer himself on his own responsibility. The CE marking is therefore not a quality mark.
Advertising products with the terms "CE certification" or "CE tested" is therefore anti-competitive and should be refrained from.
If you have any questions on this topic, please do not hesitate to contact our lawyers.
In this context, it should be noted that Lauterer Wettbewerb e.V., Maximilianstr. 29, 80535 Munich, Germany, is currently issuing warnings for the use of the term "CE-tested".
Goldberg - Lawyers 2016
