Template abuse

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Misuse of drafts was an offense of the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG). It was repealed and largely replaced by the law on the protection of trade secrets (GeschGehG) .

According to § 18 UWG, anyone who uses the templates or technical regulations entrusted to him in the course of business transactions, in particular drawings, models, templates, cuts, recipes, for competitive purposes or for self-interest, or communicates them to third parties, is liable to prosecution. The offense was an offense within the meaning of Section 12, Paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code , as it is only punished with a fine to a minimum .

Attempts to mislead, offer or declare willingness to abuse a template as well as accepting such an offer were also punishable ( Section 19 UWG). As a result, the provision was an exception to the rule regulated in the StGB that attempted incitement to an offense is not punishable ( Section 30 (1) StGB).

Since this act was a protection act within the meaning of Section 823 (2) of the German Civil Code , the offender was also liable for damages .

Today, technical templates are only protected to the extent that they are also a trade secret.

literature

  • Joerg Brammsen, legal interest and perpetrator of the model freebooting (§ 18 UWG) , wistra 2006, 201 ff.