Legal qualification of spamming as an act of unfair competition under the Law on Electronic Services and the Law on Unfair Competition Cover Image

Kwalifikacja prawna spammingu jako czynu nieuczciwej konkurencji na gruncie ustawy o świadczeniu usług drogą elektroniczną oraz ustawy o zwalczaniu nieuczciwej konkurencji
Legal qualification of spamming as an act of unfair competition under the Law on Electronic Services and the Law on Unfair Competition

Author(s): Monika Szczotkowska
Subject(s): Business Economy / Management, Commercial Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydziału Zarządzania Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego
Keywords: Spamming; act of unfair competition; unfair advertising

Summary/Abstract: The development of new technologies creates numerous conveniences for humans – they can make work easier, cheaper and eliminate errors. Thanks to new technologies, humans can optimize their actions, so that they are able to faster achieve their purpose. New technologies have also influenced the development of entrepreneurship, and in turn, they affect the shaping of competition. Today, almost every trader uses technological means of communication; almost every single one of them uses them for marketing activities. The fact that only minimal investment is needed for the transmission of information by technological means (electronic mail in particular), caused the emergence of the phenomenon commonly known as spamming. Since the transmission of unsolicited commercial communications is often associated with running a business (as well as being undesirable), the Author attempts to analyze the phenomenon as an infringement from the point of view of fair market competition. The Polish legislator rightly placed spamming in the catalogue of acts of unfair competition, but zealously stressing the problem of such violations committed against consumers, ignores the issue of abuse directed against competitors. Tools for fighting against unsolicited information are not very effective. It is therefore necessary to introduce changes leading to the economic unprofitability of such actions and facilitating ways for victims to assert their rights

  • Issue Year: 4/2015
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 50-58
  • Page Count: 9
  • Language: Polish