Information Automechanika Frankfurt

In the past, parts and accessories advertising has repeatedly been the subject of legal disputes. These mostly involve complaints by suppliers about their own trademark being used on parts or accessories without authorisation or at least not in the due and proper form. As a consequence, the exhibitor is in many cases prohibited from further exhibiting the products concerned, or related promotion material. These measures can be enforced under civil or criminal law.

To ensure our exhibitors have a trouble-free trade fair, we would like to draw your attention to the following:

1. General

The accessory or spare part, its packaging and support materials should be designed in such a way that the targeted public is left in no doubt as to the origin of the product. Unambiguous identification must clearly show that the part concerned is the product of an independent third party and not the product of the original manufacturer. The easiest way to do this is to label the product and packaging with your own trademark in a clearly visible place.

The same applies to other advertising measures as well as to the design of the exhibition stand. This, too, must not in any way convey the misleading impression that a special relationship exists with the original manufacturer.

Use of the logotypes or symbols of an original manufacturer for your own advertising purposes requires the prior consent of the trademark owner. Apart from a few legally defined exceptions, the lack of the owner’s consent constitutes an infringement of property rights and may result in civil or criminal legal action.

2. Measures

The logotype or symbol and other business marks of a vehicle manufacturer should therefore only be used if the necessary consent has been granted. You should obtain such consent in writing and keep this document to hand at the trade fair so that you are able to present it if required. The consent should refer to the specific form of advertising or use.

Particular caution is advised when making references to the name of the original manufacturer, as well as to trademark-protected brands or model names. Such information is only permitted where this is necessary to inform the public about the designated use of your own products.

However, it is only necessary to use a third-party trademark where such information about the purpose of the products cannot be provided in any other meaningful way. The specific use must, therefore practically constitute the only means of providing such information. This relates to cases in which such information – for example concerning compatibility with an original part – practically cannot be provided without using the original trademark.

Such exempted use constitutes a legal exception, which should by definition be interpreted restrictively. Where, for example, technical standards or norms exist that are suitable for providing the targeted public with comprehensive and complete information as to the intended purpose of the product (such as size specifications or DIN standards), the use of the trademark would in principle not be necessary and would therefore be inadmissible. Whether an individual case constitutes such a legal exception, i.e. whether it is permissible to use a trademark to describe the intended purpose without the original manufacturer’s authorisation requires detailed examination from a legal point of view. The same applies to the question of what form such use should take; namely, it must not violate moral standards. Thus, the thirdparty trademark in particular may not be used for advertising purposes above and beyond the advertising effect associated with the necessary product designation. This may already be the case where instead of the logotype a manufacturer’s well-known symbol is used.

In your interests and ours, we thank you for heeding the above recommendations when organising your trade fair presentation. As it largely depends on the circumstances of the individual case, we recommend that where clarification is needed you obtain legal advice ahead of the trade fair. Create clarity about the provenance of your products and help us to make our event more transparent.