Volume II

Issue : 7: April 1, 2004

• Philippines Government to Benefit from Online Gambling
• World Trade Organization Rules that the U.S. Should be Opened to Internet Gambling
• Accountant Sues Search Engines for Libel for "Injurious" Search Results
• Court Finds New York Times Liable for Defamation for Use of Companys Graphic in Article
• Japanese Court Finds No Copyright Exists in Web News Headlines
• European Union Hits Microsoft with Record $613 Million Fine for Antitrust Abuses
• B.C. Supreme Court Finds Potential Liability for Chat Room Owners over Postings
• German Court Rules Pop-Up Ads Require Permission
• The Dutch Supreme Court Rules ISP can Ban Spammers
• Privacy Commissioner of Canada Releases New Decisions
• California Appeals Court Finds Personal Jurisdiction over Two Out-of-State Businesses
• Canadian Federal Court Dismisses Motion to Compel ISP to Disclose Identity of File Sharers

Home > Volume II > Issue 7: April 1, 2004 > German Court Rules Pop-Up Ads Require Permission

German Court Rules Pop-Up Ads Require Permission

A preliminary injunction was granted by a German Court preventing a German company's pop-up and pop-under ads from appearing over a car rental company's website without permission. The Court ruled that the ads, which originated with software distributed by Claria and appeared on the website of the German division of Hertz, violated Germany's unfair competition laws. Claria's pop-up software (adware) was usually bundled with free file swapping software and frequently installed on a user's personal computers without the user's knowledge. The pop-ups included ads from Hertz's competitors and other businesses. Hertz claimed that the unsolicited ads were an unwarranted intrusion into Hertz's ability to deal with its customers online. The Court ruled that each violation of its order could result in a fine of up to $302,325 or six months in jail.

Last December, a U.S. judge granted an injunction in similar circumstances. The December ruling, along with that of the German Court, represents a reversal of the previous trend in the jurisprudence, which found that PC users consented to having the adware installed on their computers in exchange for free software.

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