I know Attorney S. from my many years of consulting practice.
In the past, Attorney S. has worked extensively for the Sachse Vertriebs Marlen and Sven Sachse GbR (Sachse Vertriebs GbR) warned under competition law.
I have now been presented with a letter from lawyer S. on behalf of Mr. Swen Sachse.
The subject says
„Violation of the Medicines Act“.
The letter claims that his client has been in retail for 20 years and has 2 brick-and-mortar stores. After registration in accordance with Section 67 of the Medicines Act (AMG), Swen Sachse is authorized to sell over-the-counter medicines. I cannot understand this claim.
The letter is about over-the-counter medicines being offered over the Internet without the seller being registered in the mail order register.
About the legal background:
The new one has also been in effect since June 26, 2015 Paragraph 8 in Section 67 AMGa national implementation of the European Counterfeiting Directive 2011/62/EU. This states that every website on which medicines for human use are offered for sale to the public must bear the European safety logo and be registered in a public national register. This applies to both pharmacies and other companies that deal in over-the-counter medicines.
Using the mail order register and the associated EU security logo, buyers can easily see whether a pharmacy/retailer has the relevant official permission. The BfArM (Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices) has been making both available on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health since April 21, 2009.
In an internet offer for over-the-counter medicines The mail order logo (see graphic in this article) must be displayed, which links to the specific registration of the seller.
The locally responsible supervisory authority is responsible for registration. This then forwards the necessary documents to the BfArM.
What is the letter from lawyer S. for Swen Sachse about?
The letter is about the fact that it was recently discovered that the recipient of the letter was offering over-the-counter medicines on the Internet, in particular in the form of health teas, without mail order registration with the BfArM. The legal consequences of an administrative offense, fines “or even imprisonment” are strongly emphasized.
A product such as tea can legally be considered a food. The identical product can also be a medicine. A medicine may be advertised with health-related or disease-related claims, but a food may not. A medicine is also labeled completely differently on the packaging than a food.
What is demanded in the letter from lawyer S
This is the letter from lawyer S. for Swen Sachse not about a warning under competition law. In a warning under competition law, a cease-and-desist declaration with a penalty is required, but not here.
Here, however, a “ out-of-court settlement offer“submitted:
The recipient of the letter should stop selling over-the-counter medicines within a period of one week from delivery of the letter, but no later than a specific date, as long as there is no legitimation.
That’s not enough:
At the same time, the recipient of the letter should agree to reimburse Sven Sachse “without acknowledging a legal obligation, but nevertheless in a legally binding manner” a flat-rate expense allowance of €1,500.
The matter would then be over altogether. You are requested to inform by email whether you agree with the proposal.
In order to increase the pressure, it is explained that if no settlement is reached, there would be grounds for formal injunction proceedings under the UWG to be carried out. At the same time, the “initiation of proceedings against the BfArM is announced. The judicial enforcement of injunctive relief and official sanctions generally cause considerable additional costs, which are likely to exceed the offered settlement amount many times over, according to the letter.
I recommend that you under no circumstances pay the “settlement amount” without prior legal advice.
About me and my work:
I advise as a specialist lawyer for intellectual property protection in my law firm Internetrecht-Rostock.de I have been working in intellectual property law for over 20 years and therefore have experience in a variety of warning procedures.
Die Law firm Internetrecht-Rostock.de has been providing information about topics for online retailers on its website of the same name for more than 20 years with now over 3,000 articles and advises a large number of online retailers on securing their presence.
I can also advise you nationwide at short notice by telephone. As part of my consultation, I discuss the legal situation and the various alternative courses of action with the respective advantages and disadvantages. Of course, you will also receive concrete recommendations from me on how to proceed.
Have you also received a letter from lawyer S. on behalf of Swen Sachse for “violation of the Medicines Act”?
If you have also received a letter from Attorney S., you can easily contact me using the contact details provided:
- Just call me (Tel. 0381-260 567 30).
- Send me an email (rostock@internetrecht-rostock).
- Or send me a message using the “Send Message” function.
Johannes Richard
lawyer
Specialist lawyer for intellectual property rights
