ECJ Judgment in case C-52/10: about the notion and the relevance of the “surreptitious advertising”

In order to  ensure that the interests of consumers as television viewers are fully and properly  protected, the ‘Television without Frontiers’ Directive makes TV advertising subject to a number of minimum rules and standards.  The Directive prohibits “surreptitious advertising”, which it defines as ‘the representation in words or pictures of goods, services, the name, the trade mark or the activities of a producer of goods or a provider of  services in programmes when such  representation is intended by the broadcaster to  serve advertising and might mislead the public as to its nature’. Such representation is considered to be intentional in particular if it is done in return for payment or for similar consideration.  During a programme broadcast in  2003 on the private TV channel called ‘ALTER CHANNEL’, a cosmetic dental treatment was presented in three sequences: before, during and after the treatment of a patient. The presenter spoke with a dentist, who stated that the treatment was a  worldwide innovation. Information was provided about the efficacy and the costs of the treatment. Here to read more.