The Court of appeal of Paris reinforces convictions pronounced against Vérimédia Company in aid of SNPTV

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For a decade, Vérimédia Company has not stopped accusing the sales houses of television channels to “overcharge” advertising spaces. In accordance with it, the advertising space prices would be fixed by television channels according to a precise broadcasting schedule which would not be respected. On the basis of this inaccurate postulate, Vérimédia promised to the advertisers to obtain the refund of the so-called excess by the sales houses.

The falseness of the thesis had been already punished by the French Competition Counsel (October 13th 1999 decision), by the Penal Courts (Court of appeal of Versailles, March 12th 2003) and by Commercial Judges (Commercial court of Paris, June 16th 2004), who had noticed that the advertising space prices were settled according to the advertising screen in which it was enclosed and of its broadcasting context.

Following the repeated behaviours of Vérimédia, SNPTV which comprises the sales houses of about hundred channels, issued a writ to the Commercial Court of Paris which sentenced Vérimédia for deceptive advertisement and slating of SNPTV and of its space administrations.
 
This decision has just been confirmed by the Court of appeal of Paris in a judgement of September 12th, 2007 which confirmed that the Vérimédia thesis denigrated the SNPTV and leaded the advertisers astray; promising them to recover the amount paid to the sales houses.

The Court of appeal has “ forbidden, under an 3,000 euros constraint (…), to broadcast any document arguing that an over billing of the TV advertisement would exist on the basis of an inaccurate postulate according to which the prices would only be contingent of the TV advertisement broadcasting time ” and sentenced to 30,000 euros of damages for the prejudice made to SNPTV.

The decision confirmed by the Court of appeal of Paris, September 12th, 2007, has not be examined for appeal in quashing. The affair is closed.  

[2] The Deprez Dian Guignot lawfirm (Pierre Deprez, Esq. – T. +33 1 53 23 80 00 – deprez@ddg.fr) advised the SNPTV.

Click here to see press releases  » SNPTV vs VERIMEDIA  » : November 4th 2003 – March 3rd 2005.