Verdict: The warning weather app needs to cost money in the future

The German weather service is no longer allowed to offer its popular warning weather app for free. The Bonn District Court wants to recognize a distortion of competition.

Verdict: The warning weather app needs to cost money in the future

Cloudy prospects for wear enthusiasts: according to a judgement of Bonn District Court, warning wear app of German wear Service can no longer be offered free of charge. The app of authority warns against storms and provides additional wear reports. This is seen by private competition as a tax-financed distortion of competition – and has nunzunächst right.

According to court, free warning wear app of German Wear Service (DWD) for smartphones, tablets and computers violates competition law, because weren't only disseminate official warnings, but also extensively inform about wear. For this reason, German meteorological service must demand remuneration according to legal bases.

Had sued Wear Online, a private provider of a wear app based in Bonn. Wear online requires money for its app or displays advertising in app to make money with app.

The DWD enhances its reputation with app

By offering warning wear app, court's view is a business act in sense of competition law, because German wear service offers services in competition with private companies. In this respect, German Meteorological Service does not act in a sovereign, but operates as an economic company. It is irrelevant that warning wear app is offered free of charge.

Because with app German Wear Service promotes its own company, increases its reputation and its reputation on market of wear service providers and thus its market power, is court.

Wear Service wants to spread warnings about a modern medium

A DWD spokesman did not want to comment on consequences at first. It is first necessary to wait for full justification of verdict. The German wear service does not pursue commercial goals with app as an authority, he stressed. It's about spreading background to wear warnings about a contemporary medium that really is reaching people. This would provide citizens with information y need to realistically assess wear warnings.

A spokesman of Association of German Wear Service providers welcomed verdict. The German wear service was shot far beyond its remit with app. The authority should collect data, make it available and warn against wear hazards. The warning wear app does much more than that.

The DWD spokesman, however, held that app was intentionally disseminating only a small portion of information that wear Service had. However, since summer of 2017, German wear Service has provided all its data free of charge to private services for ir work. The private wear services in Germany fought in wrong place. The danger for your business model is not with German wear authority, but in international wear companies, for example from USA.

The German wear Service can appeal against judgement of Bonn District Court within one month (AZ.: 16 o 21/16).

Date Of Update: 18 November 2017, 12:03
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