Judgment of the Court of Justice in Case C-296/23

PRESS RELEASE No 103/24 Luxembourg, 20 June 2024 Judgment of the Court in Case C-296/23 | dm-drogerie markt Advertising for biocidal products: EU law prohibits use of the indication ‘skin friendly’ The drugstore chain dm-drogerie markt GmbH & Co. KG (‘dm’) offered the disinfectant ‘BioLYTHE’ for sale. The label affixed to that product contained the following indications: ‘ecological universal broad-spectrum disinfectant’, ‘skin, hand and surface disinfection’, ‘effective against SARS-Corona’ and ‘skin friendly • organic • alcohol-free’. The German Association for Protection against Unfair Competition considers that the advertising concerned is unfair. According to that association, dm failed to comply with the regulation on biocidal products 1. It therefore brought an action before the German courts in order to require dm to refrain from designating or marketing the product at issue as an ‘ecological universal broad-spectrum disinfectant’ and/or ‘skin friendly’ and/or ‘organic’. Under the regulation, biocidal products may not be advertised in a manner in which the indications may mislead the user in respect of the risks from those products to health or the environment or in respect of their efficacy. Promoting a biocidal product with the indications ‘low-risk biocidal product’, ‘non-toxic’, ‘harmless’, ‘natural’, ‘environmentally friendly’, ‘animal friendly’ or any similar indication is prohibited. In those circumstances, the Federal Court of Justice,...