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At the request of a trading company for precious metals, the Regional Court of Hamburg (LG Hamburg, Beschluss v. 4.10.2016, Az. 312 O 275/15) prohibited a law firm specializing in banking and capital market law from unlawfully advertising to clients by means of a misleading Google AdWords ad.
The law firm had claimed in the AdWords ad that the company had been “convicted” and offered the free initial legal consultation that was allegedly necessary as a result.
The Hamburg Regional Court agreed with the applicant in its preliminary injunction that the advertisement was misleading, as it did not state on what basis the “conviction” had been made or that the judgment was not yet final, and accordingly ordered the law firm to cease and desist. The fact that advertisers only have a limited amount of space available within a Google AdWords ad did not help the law firm in this respect.
In the event of non-compliance, a fine of up to € 250,000 or up to six months’ imprisonment may be imposed. The decision has been issued by way of an order and must be observed immediately. However, it is not legally binding and can still be appealed against by the law firm concerned. The Hamburg Regional Court set the value in dispute at € 80,000.
In addition to the claim for injunctive relief, there are also claims for damages, which the retail company will assert in separate proceedings.
Lawyer Arno Lampmann from the law firm LHR:
“The liberalization of advertising law for the liberal professions has led many lawyers in recent years to advertise not only more freely, but also more aggressively and – as the present case shows – unfortunately also simply illegally with a view to quick fee revenue. Nowadays, an AdWords ad is placed quickly – often too quickly. Lawyers who have taken up the cause of investor protection often fail to consider that unlawful, untrue advertising in the financial sector can cause considerable damage that is not covered by a lawyer’s financial liability insurance.”
We specialize in the protection of companies and personalities. If you are one of those affected by unlawful advertising, please call us or send us an e-mail. (la)[:]
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