Urteile

Wettbewerbswidrige Verbreitung einer Nachricht über eine erwirkte Einstweilige Verfügung

Leitsatz des Gerichts

Die Verbreitung von Nachrichten über eine erwirkte Einstweilige Verfügung ist wettbewerbswidrig.

Tenor

1. Der Antragsgegnerin wird im Wege der einstweiligen Verfügung, und zwar wegen der besonderen Dringlichkeit ohne vorherige mündliche Verhandlung, untersagt, im geschäftlichen Verkehr zu Zwecken des Wettbewerbs zu verbreiten, die ... Autovermietung GmbH habe eine einstweilige Verfügung vor dem Landgericht Köln gegen die Antragstellerin erwirkt, so wie dies in der auf der nachfolgenden Seite eingeblendeten Presseerklärung geschieht:

   German Court Blocks Gator Spyware 'Pop-up' Advertising

   - U.S. Federal Court and State of Utah Also Take Action

   ESCHBORN, Germany and PARK RIDGE, N.J., March 26 /PRNewswire/ - The ... Corporation's German vehicle rental subsidiary, ... Autovermietung GmbH, announced that the Court of First Instance in Cologne has issued a preliminary injunction this month prohibiting ... Corporation from using its software to place advertising, including "pop-up" and "pop-under" ads, on ... website, ... . ... was previously known as ... Corporation.
   The court, citing sections of the German Act against Unfair Competition, ruled that ... must stop "placing or allowing the placement of software-controlled automatic advertisements ... on (...) Internet page ... without (...) consent, in particular in the form of pop-up and pop-under advertising windows." Each violation of the injunction carries penalties of up to EUR 250,000 or up to six months imprisonment.
   "... unsolicited pop-up ads constitute an unwarranted intrusion that disrupts ... abillty to do business with online customers," said ... General Manager of ... in Germany. "We are gratified that the court in Cologne has recognized that ... and its online customers are harmed every time these ads appear, often without the full knowledge and consent of individuals who may have inadvertently installed ... spyware on their home computers," he added.
   The decision in Cologne is the first court ruling in Germany related to so-called "adware" software. lt comes roughly three months after the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a preliminary injunction, ruling that similar software created by WhenU, another Internet adware company, violated trademark laws in the United States. That decision is currently on appeal before the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals and ... which is not a party to the WhenU Iltigation, has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief In support of the plaintiff companies suing WhenU.
   In addition to the U.S. trademark protections currently available to website owners, the State of Utah has enacted a new law that provides additional protection from unwanted, spyware-driven advertising. On March 24, 2004, Utah Governor ... signed into law legislation, effective May 3, 2004, that creates a private right of action in Utah for website and trademark owners subjected to unsolicited spyware advertising on their proprietary websites.

   ... is the world's largest general use car rental company with approximately 7200 locations in over 150 countries.

   SOURCE The ... Corporation

2. Der Antragsgegnerin werden für jeden Fall der Zuwiderhandlung gegen dieses gerichtliche Verbot als Zwangsvollstreckungsmaßnahmen Ordnungsgeld bis zu 250.000,00 E, ersatzweise Ordnungshaft bis zu 6 Monaten, und Ordnungshaft bis zu 6 Monaten angedroht.

3. Über den weitergehenden Antrag soll nicht ohne mündliche Verhandlung entschieden werden.

4. Die Kosten des Verfahrens werden der Antragsgegnerin auferlegt.

5. Bei Zustellung sind diesem Beschluß beglaubigte und einfache Abschrift der Antragsschrift nebst Anlagen beizufügen.

6. Der Streitwert wird auf 125.000,00 E festgesetzt.

Düsseldorf, den 30.03.2004
Landgericht, 4. Kammer für Handelssachen
Der Vorsitzende
Dr. Butz
Vorsitzender Richter am Landgericht

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