Ultra-Seal wins case against German tyre association BRV

Bonn District Court and the higher Federal court of appeal in Cologne have rejected the application for a preliminary injunction against Ultra-Seal regarding the use of Ultra-Seal on the German market sought by the German tyre association BundesReifenVerband (BRV). According to the company, over the last few months, a large lobby had been set up by the BRV, which had been “proactively attacking Ultra-Seal users and the press with statements about Ultra-Seal being illegal on the German market on grounds of §36 of the StVZO (German Road Vehicle Registration Regulations) under ‘Richtlinien’ (guidelines) issued by the Bundesverkehrsministerium (Federal Transport Department)”. Ultra-Seal stated its counterarguments against these allegations in statement published by Tyres & Accessories’ German sister website, Reifenpresse on 23 May 2017.

Subsequently, the courts found in favour of Ultra-Seal: First, the ‘Landgericht’ Bonn (30 O 24/17) concluded on 22 June 2017 that the ‘Richtlinien’ the BRV refers to are not market conduct rules (Marktverhaltensvorschriften) in the meaning of German Unfair Competition Act (UWG) and therefore rejected the case, ruling in favour of Ultra-Seal. Afterwards the German higher court (Oberlandesgericht Köln, 6 W 84/17) concluded on 4 September 2017 as well that the case should be rejected as non-urgent, and therefore ruled for Ultra-Seal. Those decisions resulted in the company winning the preliminary injunction case.

Countersuit by Ultra-Seal on new allegations by the BRV

Ultra-Seal reports that it has encountered a lot of opposition from the BRV. The company argues that BRV members “are simply troubled by the longer tyre life Ultra-Seal obtains due to less tyre wear because of optimum tyre pressure”. As Ultra-Seal has won the court case, it can now start expanding its customer base in Germany again, which had been “seriously troubled by the allegations made by the BRV”.

Ultra-Seal has been operating in the USA for more than 40 years, with numerous customers in both the commercial and public sectors. Customers include:

DSV, DHL, Ewals Cargo Care, TIP Trailer Services, Bring, Ancotrans, UES, Mezger and ICTS Group.