Competition law

Fairness and integrity are key for the functioning of a market. Competition Law is an important part of this but also provides challenges due to its complexity. We will gladly advise you in implementing your projects and take over the pursuit or defence of your competition law claims.

• Actions against unfair conduct in competition
• Damages for violations of Austrian or EU competition law
• Defence against cartels and abuse of dominant position
• Advice on compliance of projects with competition law

Legal conflicts in business life are often also related to competition law. For example, unfair behaviour by a competitor can violate the Unfair Competition Act (UWG), e.g. if mandatory legal provisions are systematically infringed or consumers are misled. In recent years, greenwashing has become particularly relevant here, i.e. when advertising with topics such as sustainability or organic without actually fulfilling the requirements. The UWG provides for injunctions and damages for this, and public law sanctions are also possible. We are happy to support you in enforcing your claims in order to protect you from unfair attacks by competitors or to ward off baseless lawsuits against you.

Cartels also harm free competition, which is why they are prohibited under both Austrian and EU law. We gladly assist you to claim the damage you have suffered as a result, for which EU law lays down particularly favourable rules. We also support you to examine your claims in the event of abuse of a dominant position by a large company, for example if you are discriminated against for no reason in the award of a contract.

Especially when planning advertising campaigns, but also joint ventures or larger investments, problems with competition law can emerge later. We will advise you in the initial phase in order to identify problems at an early stage in a cost-efficient manner and thereby minimise compliance risks.