On 8 February 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held that an advertisement comparing prices of goods sold in shops of different sizes and formats is liable to be unlawful as the advertisement does not clearly inform consumers of these differences in sthe stores’ sizes and formats. The case is Carrefour Hypermarchés SAS v. ITM Alimentaire International SASU, C-562/15.
ITM is responsible for the strategy and commercial policy Intermarché, the retail chain, which owns supermarkets and hypermarkets, the largest of stores in the EU (Intermarché). Carrefour Hypermarché is part of the Carrefour group, which owns supermarkets, hypermarkets, and small stores in cities (Carrefour).
Carrefour launched a comparative television advertising campaign in 2012 which compared the prices of 500 leading brand products sold in its hypermarkets with the prices of these goods in competitors’ stores, and offered to reimburse consumers twice the price difference if they found cheaper prices for these goods than at Carrefour stores.
However, Carrefour compared its hypermarkets prices with Intermarché’s supermarket prices, without informing the public of the difference in the stores’ sizes and format. which prices were being compared in the advertisement. This information was only published on Carrefour’s website, and in small print.
Intermarché filed suit against Carrefour in October 2013, asking the Paris Commercial Court to enjoin Carrefour from disseminating the ad. The Court awarded Intermarché 800,000 euros in damages. Carrefour appealed to the Paris Court of Appeals, and also requested that the issue be referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling.
The European Union law and the French law of comparative advertising
Article 6 of Directive 2005/29 defines a misleading commercial action as one which “contains false information and is therefore untruthful or in any way… deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer… or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.” Article 2(b) of Directive 2006/114/EC defines “misleading advertising” as “any advertising which in any way, including its presentation, deceives or is likely to deceive the persons to whom it is addressed or whom it reaches and which, by reason of its deceptive nature, is likely to affect their economic behavior or which, for those reasons injures or is likely to injure a competitor.”
Article 4 of Directive 2006/114/EC allows comparative advertising if it is not misleading, Article 4(a), and if it “objectively compares one or more material, relevant, verifiable and representative features of those goods and services, which may include price,” Article 4(c). Similarly, French law authorizes comparative advertising if it is not misleading or likely to deceive, Article L. 121-8 of the Consumer Code, in force when the suit against Carrefour was filed.[1] Both articles recite the termsof Directive 2006/114/EC.
The Paris Commercial Court found that Carrefour advertising did not comply with Article L. 121-8 of the Consumer Code. The Paris Court of Appeals asked the CJEU if price comparison is allowed by Article 4 of Directive 2006/114/EC only if the goods are sold in stores with similar formats and sizes. It also asked the CJEU if comparing prices of stores with different sizes and formats is “material information” within the meaning of Article 7(1) of Directive 2005/29, which states that a commercial practice is “misleading” if it omits “material information that the average consumer needs” to make an informed transactional decision. The Paris Court of Appeals also asked the CJEU to explain to what degree and via which medium this information must be disseminated to the consumer.
Is comparative advertising only legal if it compares prices of products sold in shops of similar sizes?
The CJEU synthesized the questions of the Paris Court of Appeals as: whether Article 4(a) and 4(c) must be interpreted as saying that an advertisement comparing the prices of products sold in shops of different sizes is unlawful?
The CJEU noted that Article 4 of Directive 2006/114 does not require that the shops compared be of similar formats or sizes. However, comparative advertising must not undermine fair competition or the interest of consumers (at 22). This would be the case if the comparative advertisement is misleading.
The difference in size or format of the shop may distort the objectivity of the price comparison
Article 4(c) of Directive 2006/114 requires the comparison be objective. However, as noted by the Court, “in certain circumstances the difference in size or format of the shops in which the prizes being compared by the advertiser have been identifiedmay distort the objectivity of the comparison” (at 26). Indeed, Attorney General Saugmandsgaard Øe noted in his October 19, 2016 Opinion, “that generally… the prices of consumer products are likely to vary according to the format and size of the shop” (Opinion at 43). Such “asymmetric comparison” of prices could “artificially creat[e] or increase[e] any difference between the advertiser’s and the competitor’s prices, depending on the selection of the shops for the comparison” (Opinion at 57, and CJEU at 27).
While Directive 2005/29 does not define what the “material information” cannot be omitted from the ad, the CJEU found that material information is the information that an average consumer would need to make an informed transactional decision (at 30).
If the prices compared in the ad are those of shops of different sizes and formats, it is likely to deceive the consumer, if these shops “are part of retail chains each of which includes a range of shops having different sizes or formats” (CJEU ruling, paragraph 1). Indeed, the customer may believe that the advertised price difference applies to all the shops in the advertiser’s retail chain, and such advertising is thus misleading (at 33 and 34). As this information is “necessary” for the consumer to make an informed decision on where to shop, it is a “material information” within the meaning of Article 7 of Directive 2005/29 (at 35).
The information of the difference in shops ‘sizes and format must be clear
Such advertising is misleading unless the customer is informed that the prices compared concerns shops of different sizes and formats (at 36). Such information must “clearly” provided, in the advertisement itself (at 38).
It is the duty of the national courts to assert, case by case, whether a particular advertising is misleading (at 31) and thus the referring court, the Paris Court of Appeals, will have to ascertain, in the light of this case, if the Carrefour comparative advertisement is misleading (CJEU ruling, paragraph 2). It is very likely that it will rule that such comparative advertising is misleading, as Carrefour compared prices in its hypermarkets to prices with Intermarché’s supermarkets, and such shops. While both shops are part of a retail chain, they are different in size and format.
[1] Article L. 121-8 of the Consumer Code has since been abrogated and replaced, without any changes, by Article L. 122-1 of the Consumer Code.
On 8 February 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) held that an advertisement comparing prices of goods sold in shops of different sizes and formats is liable to be unlawful as the advertisement does not clearly inform consumers of these differences in sthe stores’ sizes and formats. The case is Carrefour Hypermarchés SAS v. ITM Alimentaire International SASU, C-562/15.
ITM is responsible for the strategy and commercial policy Intermarché, the retail chain, which owns supermarkets and hypermarkets, the largest of stores in the EU (Intermarché). Carrefour Hypermarché is part of the Carrefour group, which owns supermarkets, hypermarkets, and small stores in cities (Carrefour).
Carrefour launched a comparative television advertising campaign in 2012 which compared the prices of 500 leading brand products sold in its hypermarkets with the prices of these goods in competitors’ stores, and offered to reimburse consumers twice the price difference if they found cheaper prices for these goods than at Carrefour stores.
However, Carrefour compared its hypermarkets prices with Intermarché’s supermarket prices, without informing the public of the difference in the stores’ sizes and format. which prices were being compared in the advertisement. This information was only published on Carrefour’s website, and in small print.
Intermarché filed suit against Carrefour in October 2013, asking the Paris Commercial Court to enjoin Carrefour from disseminating the ad. The Court awarded Intermarché 800,000 euros in damages. Carrefour appealed to the Paris Court of Appeals, and also requested that the issue be referred to the CJEU for a preliminary ruling.
The European Union law and the French law of comparative advertising
Article 6 of Directive 2005/29 defines a misleading commercial action as one which “contains false information and is therefore untruthful or in any way… deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer… or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.” Article 2(b) of Directive 2006/114/EC defines “misleading advertising” as “any advertising which in any way, including its presentation, deceives or is likely to deceive the persons to whom it is addressed or whom it reaches and which, by reason of its deceptive nature, is likely to affect their economic behavior or which, for those reasons injures or is likely to injure a competitor.”
Article 4 of Directive 2006/114/EC allows comparative advertising if it is not misleading, Article 4(a), and if it “objectively compares one or more material, relevant, verifiable and representative features of those goods and services, which may include price,” Article 4(c). Similarly, French law authorizes comparative advertising if it is not misleading or likely to deceive, Article L. 121-8 of the Consumer Code, in force when the suit against Carrefour was filed.[1] Both articles recite the termsof Directive 2006/114/EC.
The Paris Commercial Court found that Carrefour advertising did not comply with Article L. 121-8 of the Consumer Code. The Paris Court of Appeals asked the CJEU if price comparison is allowed by Article 4 of Directive 2006/114/EC only if the goods are sold in stores with similar formats and sizes. It also asked the CJEU if comparing prices of stores with different sizes and formats is “material information” within the meaning of Article 7(1) of Directive 2005/29, which states that a commercial practice is “misleading” if it omits “material information that the average consumer needs” to make an informed transactional decision. The Paris Court of Appeals also asked the CJEU to explain to what degree and via which medium this information must be disseminated to the consumer.
Is comparative advertising only legal if it compares prices of products sold in shops of similar sizes?
The CJEU synthesized the questions of the Paris Court of Appeals as: whether Article 4(a) and 4(c) must be interpreted as saying that an advertisement comparing the prices of products sold in shops of different sizes is unlawful?
The CJEU noted that Article 4 of Directive 2006/114 does not require that the shops compared be of similar formats or sizes. However, comparative advertising must not undermine fair competition or the interest of consumers (at 22). This would be the case if the comparative advertisement is misleading.
The difference in size or format of the shop may distort the objectivity of the price comparison
Article 4(c) of Directive 2006/114 requires the comparison be objective. However, as noted by the Court, “in certain circumstances the difference in size or format of the shops in which the prizes being compared by the advertiser have been identifiedmay distort the objectivity of the comparison” (at 26). Indeed, Attorney General Saugmandsgaard Øe noted in his October 19, 2016 Opinion, “that generally… the prices of consumer products are likely to vary according to the format and size of the shop” (Opinion at 43). Such “asymmetric comparison” of prices could “artificially creat[e] or increase[e] any difference between the advertiser’s and the competitor’s prices, depending on the selection of the shops for the comparison” (Opinion at 57, and CJEU at 27).
While Directive 2005/29 does not define what the “material information” cannot be omitted from the ad, the CJEU found that material information is the information that an average consumer would need to make an informed transactional decision (at 30).
If the prices compared in the ad are those of shops of different sizes and formats, it is likely to deceive the consumer, if these shops “are part of retail chains each of which includes a range of shops having different sizes or formats” (CJEU ruling, paragraph 1). Indeed, the customer may believe that the advertised price difference applies to all the shops in the advertiser’s retail chain, and such advertising is thus misleading (at 33 and 34). As this information is “necessary” for the consumer to make an informed decision on where to shop, it is a “material information” within the meaning of Article 7 of Directive 2005/29 (at 35).
The information of the difference in shops ‘sizes and format must be clear
Such advertising is misleading unless the customer is informed that the prices compared concerns shops of different sizes and formats (at 36). Such information must “clearly” provided, in the advertisement itself (at 38).
It is the duty of the national courts to assert, case by case, whether a particular advertising is misleading (at 31) and thus the referring court, the Paris Court of Appeals, will have to ascertain, in the light of this case, if the Carrefour comparative advertisement is misleading (CJEU ruling, paragraph 2). It is very likely that it will rule that such comparative advertising is misleading, as Carrefour compared prices in its hypermarkets to prices with Intermarché’s supermarkets, and such shops. While both shops are part of a retail chain, they are different in size and format.
[1] Article L. 121-8 of the Consumer Code has since been abrogated and replaced, without any changes, by Article L. 122-1 of the Consumer Code.
This post has been first published on the TTLF Newsletter on Transatlantic Antitrust and IPR Developments published by the Stanford-Vienna Transatlantic Technology Law Forum
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