Legal situation in Pitch (Agency competition)
June 22, 2010 | 30,00 EUR | answered by Bernhard Müller
Who can tell me if there is a legal obligation for a company issuing a pitch to also have to appoint an agency as the winner?
Background:
What does the client do if all invited advertising agencies present an unusable concept?
Is there an obligation for the company to pay out an agency for the creative performance?
For a brief information - possibly with a legal reference - I would be very grateful.
Dear inquirer,
Based on the description you provided, it appears that a prize competition according to § 661 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is involved. According to paragraph 2 sentence 1, the offeror (the company issuing the competition) decides whether a submitted application meets the requirements of the competition. If none of the concepts are usable, then payment is also not required. However, the company issuing the competition may not use the design work or its results. If the company uses it, they are implicitly indicating that they consider the concept usable.
Attached you will find the text of § 661 BGB.
I hope that my response was able to help you.
Sincerely,
Bernhard Müller Attorney at Law
Attachment:
§ 661 BGB
(1) An offer that involves a competition for a prize is only valid if a deadline for applications is specified in the announcement.
(2) The decision on whether an application submitted within the deadline meets the requirements of the offer or which of several applications deserves preference is to be made by the person designated in the offer, or in the absence of such a person, by the offeror. The decision is binding for the parties involved.
(3) In cases where applications are of equal merit, the provisions of § 659 para. 2 apply to the awarding of the prize.
(4) The transfer of ownership of the work can only be demanded by the offeror if it has been specified in the offer that the transfer should take place.
