As part of the EU’s “Automotive Package”, the EU Commission published a proposal for a new Regulation on 16 December 2025 which, among others, concerns vehicle labeling. So far, the proposal is only available in English; the full text can be found here.

These are our initial observations:

– The current Directive 1999/94/EC, which forms the basis of the German PKW-EnVKV, will be repealed; provisions on energy consumption, CO2 emission and range labeling will be introduced into Regulation (EU) 2019/631. This is indented to bring about EU-wide standardization.

– The proposed provisions are less comprehensive and less differentiated than those in the current PKW-EnVKV. E.g., no distinction is made between new and used vehicles.

– Any promotional material related to the sale or lease of individual vehicles needs to show a vehicle label; this is not the case at present.

– The new standard label will be less comprehensive than the current energy label required by the PKW-EnVKV; it is more reminiscent of the tire label.

– As an alternative to displaying the standard vehicle label, it will also be possible to use a simplified label on the internet, which contains color coding and indicates the CO2 class. That generally requires that the simplified label guides the user to the product database containing the relevant information.

– Enforcement and legal consequences of violations will be left to the EU Member States.

The legislative process is still in its early stages and adjustments are sure to be made.

You can find the new labels here.

The German Consumer Rights Enforcement Act (Verbraucherrechtedurchsetzungsgesetz, VDuG) entered into force on 13 October 2023. It serves to implement the Collective Redress Directive ((EU) 2020/1828). Most importantly, it contains a new type of claim, the so-called “Abhilfeklage”. Within only six months, German consumer associations have filed such claims in six cases (possibly more that are not publicly known yet), the latest one being a claim by Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband against DAZN concerning unilateral price increases that was filed in April 2024 (press release available here).

The “Abhilfeklage” is a representative action aimed at redress measures that can be brought by qualified entities (such as consumer associations) against businesses. It allows courts to hand down decisions ordering businesses to take certain actions (including the payment of monetary compensation) to a group of individual consumers, provided that they have suffered from the same type of wrongdoing, that their claims are essentially identical, and that they have registered to participate in such action.

Based on the number of “Abhilfeklagen” brought within a short period of time, this type of claim is likely to have a much bigger impact than the already (and still) existent so-called “Musterfeststellungsklage”. This is mainly because the new “Abhilfeklage” allows courts to order the defendant to take certain actions, including the payment of a compensation; in contrast, the “Musterfeststellungsklage” which has already existed prior to the new law only allows courts to make binding findings on specific aspects that are relevant for the consumers’ claims (which then would still have to file individual claims if the defendant refuses to compensate them).

Here are the key facts about the “Abhilfeklage”:

• Admissibility: Essentially identical consumer claims with at least 50 potentially affected consumers.

• Claims in scope: All civil law claims by consumers against businesses, e.g. payment claims resulting from inadmissible price adjustment clauses, claims to repair or replacement due to defective products, claims for damages based on misleading advertising, etc.

• Opt-in: Consumers must actively register their claims to the Verbandsklageregister (which is operated by the Federal Ministry of Justice) within not more than three weeks after the closing of the oral hearing.

• Eligible parties to join: Only consumers and very small SMEs (which have less than ten employees with not more than EUR 2 million annual turnover).

• Outcome of proceedings: If the parties do not settle the case (which requires approval from the court), the court can order the business to take certain actions; this includes the payment of a collective amount to a group of individual consumers (whereby the requirements for the individuals to obtain such payments will be specified), which will be distributed by a trustee amongst the consumers concerned.

The new “Abhilfeklage” poses a relevant (and largely unknown) risk for businesses, in particular regarding damage claims. While small damage claims are often not pursued by consumers in court, this might now change; consumer associations could bring corresponding claims and that could result in substantial damages payments (depending on the number of consumers concerned). The six actions that have been brought already indicate that this is not only a theoretical risk; consumer associations have started using this new tool on a regular basis. That affects the risk exposure for businesses, which should consider this relatively new risk in their decisions.

Information about the currently pending “Abhilfeklagen” is publicly available in the registry of the Federal Ministry of Justice. The full text of the VDuG is available here.

The Chambers Global Guide 2024: Germany has ranked us in Band 2 for Intellectual Property: Trademark & Unfair Competition, and states: “Lubberger Lehment holds a strong track record of assisting brand owners with trade mark, unfair competition and copyright law. Its clients hail from the luxury goods, cosmetics and technology industries. The team has notable expertise in portfolio management and selective distribution matters, further assisting with parallel import cases. The law firm is also well versed in the intellectual property aspects of transactions, including due diligence.”In addition, our partners Dr. Andreas Lubberger, Dr. Benjamin Koch, Dr. Rani Mallick and Eva Maierski have been ranked as individuals.

The full ranking can be found here.

The Legal 500 states: “Lubberger Lehment is a renowned IP boutique firm with a focus on trademark law; their service portfolio includes trademark law aspects of M&A transactions, the management of trademark and design rights portfolios and the fight against product piracy, which is particularly availed of by clients in the luxury goods segment.” Further, The Legal 500 mentions: “Lubberger Lehment is one of the leading law firms in contentious disputes and places a special focus on assisting with proceedings concerning Internet-related issues.”

In the field of trademark law, our founding partner Dr. Andreas Lubberger has been placed in the Hall of Fame, and our Berlin partners Eva Maierski and Dr. Rani Mallick are seen as “Names of the Next Generation”. Further, our Berlin associates Dr. Julian Erfurth and Leonard Pietsch have been named as “Rising Stars” in both trademark law and unfair competition law.

The full ranking for trademark law is available here, and the ranking for unfair competition law can be found here.

For several years now, Lubberger Lehment has been representing the honey manufacturer LieBee GmbH in an ongoing dispute with the jam manufacturer Göbber GmbH. The subject of dispute is the allegation of an unfair imitation, which the manufacturer of GLÜCK jam sees in LieBee honey. Lubberger Lehment have already been able to defend LieBee successfully against attacks on a second and third product design (see District Court of Hamburg, judgment of 20 January 2022, case ref. 327 O 44/21, final and binding). With the GLÜCK decision of the Federal Supreme Court of 7 December 2023, case ref. I ZR 48/22, the decision of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg regarding the first LieBee product design has been overturned. The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg had found the honey jar to be an unfair imitation of GLÜCK jam in the form of indirect deception of origin (mittelbare Herkunftstäuschung). Now the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg has to decide once more.

The decision of the Federal Supreme Court contains new and fundamental guidelines for protection against unfair imitation:

– The German law on unfair imitation does not provide for protection of specific concepts for product designations. The subject matter of protection is the specific design of a product, not the idea behind it.

– The fact that differing product and manufacturer information on products of daily use can rule out a deception about the commercial origin is also applicable in cases in which the design of the packaging clearly stands out from the market environment.

– Product names can have the same effect of indicating origin as clearly recognizable manufacturer names.

– Unfair imitation is not ruled out by the products at issue being different. However, such a difference leads to special requirements for the unfairness criterion, due to the fact that certain categories of indirect deception of origin (deception about a secondary trademark (Zweitmarkenirrtum)) are not applicable to non-identical products.

Our client LieBee GmbH was represented in the proceedings by our Berlin partners Dr. Andreas Lubberger and Eva Maierski. Axel Rinkler represented our client before the Federal Supreme Court.

Here you can find the JUVE press release.

Chambers has ranked us in Band 2 in Germany in the field of “Intellectual Property: Trade Mark & Unfair Competition” in its 2023 ranking. Chambers states: “Lubberger Lehment holds a strong track record of assisting brand owners with trade mark, unfair competition and copyright law. Its clients hail from the luxury goods, cosmetics and technology industries. The team has notable expertise in portfolio management and selective distribution matters, further assisting with parallel import cases. The law firm is also well versed in the intellectual property aspects of transactions, including due diligence.” It is a great acknowledgement of our team that we have been ranked by Chambers for 16 consecutive years now. Further information is available here, and the full ranking is available here.

The Legal 500 has listed us in the in the 2023 ranking for Germany in Tier 1 in the field of trademark law and in Tier 2 for unfair competition law. The Legal 500 states: “In addition to numerous lawsuits, Lubberger Lehment’s advisory portfolio also includes advice on trademark law in corporate transactions; the IP boutique enjoys a particularly good reputation in the luxury segment, but its core clients also include companies with digital business models. The firm’s expertise includes the management and structuring of trademark and design portfolios as well as anti-piracy and unfair competition matters.”

In trademark law, our founding partner Dr. Andreas Lubberger is placed in the Hall of Fame, and our Berlin partners Eva Maierski and Dr. Rani Mallick are seen as “Names of the Next Generation”. It is great to see that, with Eva Maierski being recognized that way for the first time this year, a further young female partner of our firm has joined the club of next generation lawyers.

Thank you, Legal 500, and also to our clients, for this great recognition of our work! The full ranking is available here.

JUVE has awarded us with the title of Law Firm of the Year 2022 for Trademark and Unfair Competition Law. The JUVE Handbook of Commercial Law Firms 2022/2023 states: “Hardly any law firm for soft IP has positioned itself so clearly and successfully in the market on the side of manufacturers of branded goods, which it represents in disputes against large trading platforms or trading companies.”, and further: “Lubberger Lehment shows how to build up a successful and sustainable team: In addition to the old master Dr. Andreas Lubberger and experienced partners such as Martin Fiebig, it is more and more a young generation of partners that takes on responsibility for large mandates, such as for example Coty, Shiseido or Würth”.

You can find the excerpt of the JUVE Handbook here. The full list of all award winners is available here.

This year, azur100 has voted us one of the top employers in trademark and unfair competition law. azur states: “If you want to be happy at Lubberger Lehment (LL), you should have a special place in your heart for IP – hardly any other boutique law firm has such an excellent reputation when it comes to landmark cases before the highest courts.” A participant in the azur survey praises the law firm: “Very exciting and challenging on a professional level – here they make it easy for you to enjoy your job”. Further, azur mentions our training programs and highlights: “The compatibility of family and work is as much a part of LL as trademark and unfair competition law.” Here are the results of the survey.

This year’s ranking of Chambers and Partners confirms: We are among the leading law firms in Germany in the field of trademark and unfair competition law. Chambers has ranked us in “Band 2”, stating: “The team has notable expertise in unlawful price fixing, portfolio management and selective distribution matters, further assisting with parallel import cases. The law firm is also well versed in the intellectual property aspects of transactions, including due diligence.” The full ranking can be accessed here.