Anyone who advertises their products or services in advertisements must also state the legal form of their company. This was clarified by the BGH (judgment of 18.04.2013 - I ZR 180/12). It is irrelevant whether there is actually any doubt about the identity of the advertiser.
In the specific case, a sole trader had advertised certain products in an advertising supplement. He had only stated the name of his business, but not the addition "e.K.". The advertiser was warned about this.
While the merchant had been successful in the first two instances with his argument that there were no reasonable doubts about his actual identity and that it was therefore possible for consumers to contact him without further ado or to hold him liable if the worst came to the worst, the BGH ultimately decided otherwise.
The corresponding provisions of European law as well as Section 5 a (3) No. 2 UWG left no doubt that the indication of the legal form of the advertising company was mandatory in any case. This is because, according to the judges, their purpose is not solely to allow an unambiguous conclusion to be drawn about the identity of the advertiser.
Rather, it is also about allowing the consumer to contact or use the advertiser directly without any further research. In addition, the disclosure obligation also serves to give the consumer the opportunity to draw conclusions about the quality and reliability of the goods or services offered.
Finally, the indication of the legal form also provides important information with regard to the economic potency, creditworthiness and liability of the advertising company.
In other words, the indication of the legal form can be of central importance for the consumer's decision as to whether he wishes to enter into a contract with the advertiser.
The reasoning of the decision makes it clear that this is by no means a purely formalistic legal consideration, but rather that there are legitimate interests of legal transactions to also indicate the legal form in the context of advertising. Companies should pay even more attention to this in future in order to avoid expensive warnings.
