In short. UWG Section 6 requires comparable offerings and objective comparisons, prohibits specified harms to competitors, and operates alongside Section 5 on misleading claims.
Definition: Comparative advertising is advertising that directly or indirectly identifies a competitor or its goods or services. As of October 2026, Germany's Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) regulates these comparisons through Section 6, alongside the misleading commercial practices rules in Section 5.
Key facts
- Germany's UWG Section 6 covers indirect identification and sets six grounds on which a comparison is unfair, including unsuitable comparison subjects and a lack of objective, verifiable features.
- UWG Section 5(4) expressly includes statements in comparative advertising, as well as visual representations intended and suited to replace such statements, within its misleading-claim rules.
- UWG Section 8(1) provides claims for removal of prohibited commercial conduct and, where repetition threatens, an injunction; an injunction claim also exists when a violation is imminent.
What can a website compare?
Under UWG Section 6(1), the definition includes advertising that makes a competitor recognisable indirectly. Omitting the competitor's name therefore leaves the comparison within the definition if the competitor or its offering remains identifiable.
Section 6(2), point 1 requires the compared goods or services to meet the same needs or serve the same intended purpose. Point 2 requires an objective comparison of one or more material, relevant, verifiable and typical characteristics, or the price of those goods or services. Price is therefore an expressly permitted subject of comparison, subject to the remaining conditions.
The requirement can concern a single characteristic: the statute says one or more. The characteristic still has to satisfy the listed criteria, including relevance and verifiability.
How must a comparison treat competitors and their branding?
UWG Section 6(2), point 3 treats a comparison as unfair when it creates a risk of confusion in commercial dealings between the advertiser and a competitor, their offerings, or their identifying signs. Point 4 also prohibits unfair exploitation or impairment of the reputation of a competitor's identifying sign.
Point 5 covers denigration or disparagement of a competitor's goods, services, activities, or personal or business circumstances. Point 6 covers presenting goods or services as imitations or replicas of goods or services marketed under a protected identifying sign. These conditions apply alongside the requirements concerning comparable needs and objective characteristics.
Which misleading claims remain prohibited?
UWG Section 5(1) treats a misleading commercial practice as unfair when it is capable of prompting a consumer or another market participant to make a transactional decision they would otherwise have avoided.
Section 5(2), point 1 covers false or otherwise deceptive information about product or service characteristics, including availability, composition, expected results and the results or material components of tests. Point 2 covers a claimed special price advantage, the price or its calculation, and the conditions of supply. Section 5(4) expressly brings statements in comparative advertising and visual substitutes within these rules.
Can the business face a claim for an employee's comparison?
Under UWG Section 8(2), removal and injunction claims also lie against the business owner when an employee or authorised representative commits the infringement within the business. Section 8(1) provides an injunction claim even when the prohibited conduct is still threatened.
Related terms
- Which conditions apply to competitor comparisons on a business website?
- Can a regulator require proof for a website's commercial claims?
- When can missing website information be a misleading omission?
FAQ
Can you compare only prices?
Yes. UWG Section 6(2), point 2 expressly includes price as a comparison subject. Your comparison must also satisfy the other conditions, including the same-needs or same-purpose requirement.
Do pictures count as comparison claims?
UWG Section 5(4) includes visual representations and other arrangements intended and suited to replace the statements covered by Section 5(2). Your comparison's visual claims therefore fall within the misleading-claim rules on that basis.
Sources
- Gesetze im Internet, "UWG Section 6: Vergleichende Werbung", undated
- Gesetze im Internet, "UWG Section 5: Irreführende geschäftliche Handlungen", undated
- Gesetze im Internet, "UWG Section 8: Beseitigung und Unterlassung", undated
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