Poor relief for UEFA?
Guest Commentary The federal authorities would do well to quietly bury the UWG bill. Hanspeter Kellermüller thinks.
Guest commentary The federal authorities would do well to quietly bury the UWG bill, says Hanspeter Kellermüller.After the World Cup is before the European Championship. The upcoming major sporting event is currently also occupying the Department of Economic Affairs. It is concerned about UEFA's commercial rights and wants to give it a helping hand with a draft law. The consultation on the amendment of the Federal Law against Unfair Competition (UCA) ran until mid-August. The aim is to take measures against so-called parasitic marketing. Non-sponsors should be prohibited from acting as commercial freeloaders in the context of a major event. The approach of the federal authorities is already irritating. The consultation report starts with the "wishes of UEFA", an actual needs analysis is missing. UEFA justifies the necessity of the revision with the argument that otherwise the incentive for official sponsoring would decrease, which would endanger the feasibility of such sporting events. A look at the market development refutes this argument: official sponsorship contributions are constantly increasing, and there is no change in sight. For this reason alone, there is no need for legislators to take action. Moreover, unfair or trademark-relevant borrowings in the area of parasitic marketing could already be prohibited under current law.
The proposal also makes no sense from an economic point of view. Experience shows that references to major events can boost competition and thus the economy. Even the event organizers benefit from the wide range of promotions in the run-up to and around major events. Without Panini & Co. there would be no social "hype" that generates the enormous market value of these events in the first place. And it is only through media coverage that sporting and cultural events attract an interested audience in the first place. In the case of major events such as football championships, special publications are regularly issued that refer to the corresponding events. Such reference must also be possible in the future, not only for reasons of media freedom, but also for considerations of competition policy.
Irrespective of these fundamental objections, the proposed standards are also deficient from a technical legal point of view. Due to their vagueness, they are in any case unable to create the desired legal certainty.
So far, the bill has drawn nothing but scathing criticism. Perhaps the EVD is not that unhappy about it. This would be a good reason to quietly bury the unnecessary reform without snubbing UEFA. In this case, the mourners would not be too large.
Hanspeter Kellermüller is legal counsel and designated managing director of the Swiss Press Association.
The proposal also makes no sense from an economic point of view. Experience shows that references to major events can boost competition and thus the economy. Even the event organizers benefit from the wide range of promotions in the run-up to and around major events. Without Panini & Co. there would be no social "hype" that generates the enormous market value of these events in the first place. And it is only through media coverage that sporting and cultural events attract an interested audience in the first place. In the case of major events such as football championships, special publications are regularly issued that refer to the corresponding events. Such reference must also be possible in the future, not only for reasons of media freedom, but also for considerations of competition policy.
Irrespective of these fundamental objections, the proposed standards are also deficient from a technical legal point of view. Due to their vagueness, they are in any case unable to create the desired legal certainty.
So far, the bill has drawn nothing but scathing criticism. Perhaps the EVD is not that unhappy about it. This would be a good reason to quietly bury the unnecessary reform without snubbing UEFA. In this case, the mourners would not be too large.
Hanspeter Kellermüller is legal counsel and designated managing director of the Swiss Press Association.
