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PARALLEL TEXTS
Il divieto, per la stampa tedesca, di pubblicare articoli sponsorizzati senza la dicitura «annuncio» («Anzeige») non viola, in linea di principio, il diritto dell’Unione
Inglese tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-132_en.htm
Italiano tratto da:
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_CJE-13-132_it.htm
Data documento: 17-10-2013
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The German prohibition on the publication of sponsored articles not identified by the term ‘advertisement’ (‘Anzeige’) is not, in principle, contrary to EU law
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Il divieto, per la stampa tedesca, di pubblicare articoli sponsorizzati senza la dicitura «annuncio» («Anzeige») non viola, in linea di principio, il diritto dell’Unione
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Since the EU legislature has not yet adopted legislative provisions on this point for the written press, the Member States retain the power to legislate in this area
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Atteso che il legislatore dell’Unione non ha ancora adottato al riguardo disposizioni legislative per la stampa scritta, gli Stati membri mantengono la loro competenza legislativa in materia
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In Germany, almost all regional (Land) laws governing the press and media require publishers to include the term ‘advertisement’ (‘Anzeige’) for any publication for remuneration in their periodicals, unless it is already evident from the arrangement and layout of the publication that it is an advertisement.
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In Germania, quasi tutte le leggi regionali relative alla stampa e ai media impongono agli editori di apporre la dicitura «annuncio» («Anzeige»), su ogni pubblicazione a titolo oneroso nei propri periodici, a meno che la collocazione o la struttura della pubblicazione non consenta, in termini generali, di riconoscerne il carattere pubblicitario.
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In a dispute involving two German newspapers, the Stuttgarter Wochenblatt and the GOOD NEWS advertiser, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice, Germany) has asked whether that prohibition is compatible with the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.
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In una controversia tra due giornali tedeschi, lo Stuttgarter Wochenblatt e il giornale di inserzioni GOOD NEWS, il Bundesgerichtshof (Corte federale di cassazione, Germania) chiede se tale divieto sia compatibile con la direttiva sulle pratiche commerciali sleali.
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The Stuttgarter Wochenblatt wishes to see GOOD NEWS prohibited from publishing sponsored articles not identified by the term ‘advertisement’ (‘Anzeige’).
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Lo Stuttgarter Wochenblatt intende far vietare a GOOD NEWS la pubblicazione di articoli sponsorizzati nei quali non figura la dicitura «annuncio» («Anzeige»).
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The Stuttgarter Wochenblatt objects to the publication in the June 2009 issue of GOOD NEWS of two sponsored articles.
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Lo Stuttgarter Wochenblatt reagisce in tal modo alla pubblicazione nel numero di giugno 2009 di GOOD NEWS di due articoli sponsorizzati.
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The first, entitled ‘VfB VIP-Geflüster’ (VfB VIP Gossip), about prominent guests who attended the final game of the season played by the German Bundesliga team, VfB Stuttgart, was sponsored by the firm Scharr.
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Il primo, intitolato «VfB VIP-Geflüster» («Gossip sui VIP presenti al VfB») ed era un reportage concernente le personalità presenti alla partita di chiusura della stagione calcistica del club VfB Stuttgart, nel contesto del campionato federale di calcio tedesco, era sponsorizzato dall’impresa «Scharr».
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The second, entitled ‘Heute: Leipzig’ (Today: Leipzig), formed part of a series entitled ‘Wohin Stuttgarter Verreisen’ (Where the people of Stuttgart like to go) and consisted of an editorial snapshot of the city of Leipzig. It was sponsored by Germanwings.
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Il secondo, intitolato «Heute: Leipzig» («Oggi:Lipsia»), che faceva parte della serie di articoli intitolata «Wohin Stuttgarter verreisen» («Mete di viaggio degli abitanti di Stoccarda») e consisteva in un breve ritratto della città di Lipsia, era sponsorizzato dalla Germanwings.
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Both articles were accompanied by the wording ‘sponsored by’ but were not identified by the term ‘Anzeige’, as required under the regional press legislation.
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Tali articoli presentavano, entrambi, la dicitura «Sponsored by» («sponsorizzato da»), ma non la dicitura «Anzeige», che tuttavia è imposta dalla legge regionale sulla stampa.
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By today’s judgment, the Court of Justice holds that in such circumstances the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is not intended to protect a competitor of a newspaper publisher who has published sponsored articles which are liable to promote the products or services of the sponsor without the identification as ‘advertising’.
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Con la sentenza odierna, la Corte di giustizia dichiara che la direttiva sulle pratiche commerciali sleali, in tali circostanze, non è intesa a tutelare il concorrente di un editore che ha pubblicato articoli sponsorizzati tali da promuovere i prodotti o i servizi dello sponsor privi della dicitura «annuncio».
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11 |
Accordingly, that directive does not preclude the application of a national provision under which publishers are required to identify specifically, in this case through the use of the term ‘advertisement’ (‘Anzeige’), any publication in their periodicals for which they receive remuneration, unless it is already evident from the arrangement and layout of the publication that it is an advertisement.
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Tale direttiva, pertanto, non osta all’applicazione di una disposizione nazionale ai sensi della quale gli editori sono tenuti ad apporre una dicitura specifica, nella specie il termine «annuncio» («Anzeige»), su ogni pubblicazione nei loro periodici per la quale essi percepiscano un corrispettivo, a meno che la collocazione o la struttura della pubblicazione non consentano, in linea generale, di riconoscerne il carattere pubblicitario.
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It is true that the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive does require advertising undertakings to indicate clearly that they have financed editorial content in the media where that content is intended to promote their products or services.
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Certo, la direttiva sulle pratiche commerciali sleali impone alle imprese inserzioniste l’obbligo di indicare chiaramente di aver finanziato un contenuto redazionale nei media ove tale contenuto sia inteso alla promozione di loro prodotti o servizi.
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If that is not clearly indicated, the sponsor is engaging in an unfair – and therefore prohibited - commercial practice.
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In assenza di una siffatta indicazione chiara, si è in presenza di una pratica commerciale sleale, e pertanto vietata, da parte dello sponsor.
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As a rule, however, that prohibition does not apply to the publisher who publishes the sponsored article.
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Orbene, in linea di principio, tale divieto non si applica all’editore che pubblica l’articolo sponsorizzato.
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It is only when the publisher has acted in the name of and/or on behalf of the sponsor - which is not the case here - that the publisher would also be covered by that obligation provided for by the Directive.
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Solo quando ha agito in nome e/o per conto dello sponsor - il che non si verifica nella specie - l’editore è anch’esso soggetto all’obbligo previsto dalla direttiva.
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That does not mean that the prohibition on unfair commercial practices may not be applied to a newspaper publisher who promotes his own products, that is to say, the newspaper, for example, by offering the chance of winning a prize in games, puzzles or competitions.
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Questo non impedisce, tuttavia, che il divieto di pratiche commerciali sleali possa essere direttamente applicabile a un editore qualora promuova il proprio prodotto, vale a dire il giornale, ad esempio offrendo giochi, enigmistica o concorsi a premi.
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Although the EU legislature has, in another directive, laid down obligations for audiovisual media providers when their services or programmes are sponsored by third-party undertakings, it has not yet adopted this kind of legislation for the written press.
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Il legislatore dell’Unione europea, pur avendo già previsto, nel contesto di un’altra direttiva, gli obblighi dei fornitori di media audiovisivi ove i loro servizi o programmi siano sponsorizzati da imprese terze, non ha ancora adottato una normativa di tale natura con riguardo alla stampa.
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Accordingly, the Member States retain the power to impose obligations on newspaper publishers to indicate when editorial content has been sponsored, whilst complying however with the provisions of the Treaty, in particular those relating to the freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment
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Pertanto, gli Stati membri mantengono la loro competenza quanto all’imposizione agli editori di obblighi intesi alla segnalazione ai lettori dell’esistenza di sponsorizzazioni di contenuti redazionali, pur nel rispetto delle disposizioni del Trattato sul funzionamento dell’Unione europea, segnatamente di quelle relative alla libera prestazione di servizi e alla libertà di stabilimento.
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NOTE:
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IMPORTANTE:
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A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law or the validity of a European Union act.
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Il rinvio pregiudiziale consente ai giudici degli Stati membri, nell'ambito di una controversia della quale sono investiti, di interpellare la Corte in merito all’interpretazione del diritto dell’Unione o alla validità di un atto dell’Unione.
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The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
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La Corte non risolve la controversia nazionale.
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It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised. |
Spetta al giudice nazionale risolvere la causa conformemente alla decisione della Corte.Tale decisione vincola egualmente gli altri giudici nazionali ai quali venga sottoposto un problema simile. |
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LISTEN WITH READSPEAKER
The German prohibition on the publication of sponsored articles not
identified by the term ‘advertisement’ (‘Anzeige’) is not, in principle,
contrary to EU law
Since the EU legislature has not yet adopted legislative provisions on this
point for the written press, the Member States retain the power to legislate in
this area
In Germany, almost all regional (Land) laws governing the press and media
require publishers to include the term ‘advertisement’ (‘Anzeige’) for any
publication for remuneration in their periodicals, unless it is already evident
from the arrangement and layout of the publication that it is an advertisement.
In a dispute involving two German newspapers, the Stuttgarter Wochenblatt and
the GOOD NEWS advertiser, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice,
Germany) has asked whether that prohibition is compatible with the Unfair
Commercial Practices Directive.
The Stuttgarter Wochenblatt wishes to see GOOD NEWS prohibited from
publishing sponsored articles not identified by the term ‘advertisement’
(‘Anzeige’).
The Stuttgarter Wochenblatt objects to the publication in the June 2009 issue
of GOOD NEWS of two sponsored articles.
The first, entitled ‘VfB VIP-Geflüster’ (VfB VIP Gossip), about prominent
guests who attended the final game of the season played by the German Bundesliga
team, VfB Stuttgart, was sponsored by the firm Scharr.
The second, entitled ‘Heute: Leipzig’ (Today: Leipzig), formed part of a
series entitled ‘Wohin Stuttgarter Verreisen’ (Where the people of Stuttgart
like to go) and consisted of an editorial snapshot of the city of Leipzig. It
was sponsored by Germanwings.
Both articles were accompanied by the wording ‘sponsored by’ but were not
identified by the term ‘Anzeige’, as required under the regional press
legislation.
By today’s judgment, the Court of Justice holds that in such circumstances
the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is not intended to protect a
competitor of a newspaper publisher who has published sponsored articles which
are liable to promote the products or services of the sponsor without the
identification as ‘advertising’.
Accordingly, that directive does not preclude the application of a national
provision under which publishers are required to identify specifically, in this
case through the use of the term ‘advertisement’ (‘Anzeige’), any publication in
their periodicals for which they receive remuneration, unless it is already
evident from the arrangement and layout of the publication that it is an
advertisement.
It is true that the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive does require
advertising undertakings to indicate clearly that they have financed editorial
content in the media where that content is intended to promote their products or
services.
If that is not clearly indicated, the sponsor is engaging in an unfair – and
therefore prohibited - commercial practice.
As a rule, however, that prohibition does not apply to the publisher who
publishes the sponsored article.
It is only when the publisher has acted in the name of and/or on behalf of
the sponsor - which is not the case here - that the publisher would also be
covered by that obligation provided for by the Directive.
That does not mean that the prohibition on unfair commercial practices may
not be applied to a newspaper publisher who promotes his own products, that is
to say, the newspaper, for example, by offering the chance of winning a prize in
games, puzzles or competitions.
Although the EU legislature has, in another directive, laid down obligations
for audiovisual media providers when their services or programmes are sponsored
by third-party undertakings, it has not yet adopted this kind of legislation for
the written press.
Accordingly, the Member States retain the power to impose obligations on
newspaper publishers to indicate when editorial content has been sponsored,
whilst complying however with the provisions of the Treaty, in particular those
relating to the freedom to provide services and freedom of establishment
NOTE:
A reference for a preliminary ruling allows the courts and tribunals of the
Member States, in disputes which have been brought before them, to refer
questions to the Court of Justice about the interpretation of European Union law
or the validity of a European Union act.
The Court of Justice does not decide the dispute itself.
It is for the national court or tribunal to dispose of the case in accordance
with the Court’s decision, which is similarly binding on other national courts
or tribunals before which a similar issue is raised.
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