GTM Glossary · Compliance & Legal
UWG §7 (Germany)
The German unfair-competition provision governing unsolicited advertising, including cold calls and marketing email.
[01]What It Means
It distinguishes channels: advertising email to a business generally requires consent, while cold calls to businesses may be permissible where presumed consent can be shown. Documentation of the basis matters as much as the basis itself.
[02]Why It Matters
DACH is the market where the gap between American outbound habits and local law is widest. Getting this wrong risks warnings, injunctions, and cost orders, on top of reputational damage with the exact buyers you want.
[03]Where It Goes Wrong
Copying a US email-first playbook into Germany unchanged.Relying on legitimate interest as though it settled the electronic-marketing question.No record of why a specific contact was approached on a specific channel.
[04]Related Terms