The Swedish Patent and Market Court of Appeal recently issued a ruling regarding the possibility to intervene against marketing on a website operated by an EU-based company in Sweden. The case concerned a German company’s marketing of, i.e., cosmetic products. In particular, questions arose regarding i) unfair marketing claims on the company’s website, and ii) marketing and delivery of products that did not meet Swedish labeling requirements.
The court found that, under the Swedish E-Commerce Act, Swedish marketing laws generally do not apply to online marketing deriving from companies established in other EU countries, even if directed towards Swedish consumers. However, the court stated that the aforesaid does not apply to product labeling. Hence, Swedish labeling requirements apply if the marketing affects or targets the Swedish market. In such case, the Swedish E-Commerce Act is deemed not applicable, allowing Swedish marketing regulations to be enforced and restricting certain marketing.
In the judgment, the court found that the German company had engaged in unfair marketing by marketing and supplying mislabelled products to consumers in Sweden. However, the claim regarding unfair marketing on the company’s website in general was rejected, as Swedish law was deemed not applicable due to the country of origin principle under the Swedish E-Commerce Act.
