Current legal status of e-mail marketing
§ 7 UWG: Unreasonable harassment
(1) Unfair business practices in terms of § 3 are any circumstances where a market participant is harassed in an unreasonable manner.
(2) Unreasonable harassment is to be assumed particularly in the following instances:
1. advertising clearly not requested by the customer
2. telemarketing calls to customers without their consent or to other market participants without at least their putative consent
3. advertising using automated telephone, fax or e-mail without the explicit consent of recipients
4. advertising with messages obfuscating or concealing the identity of the person or entity on whose behalf the message is sent, or not containing a valid address where the recipients can direct their requests to be removed from the recipients list without any costs arising beyond the basic cost of transmission.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph 2 no. 3, an unreasonable harassment in
e-mail-based advertising is not to be assumed if
1. a business person has received a customer's electronic mail address in connection with the sale of a product or service,
2. the business person uses the address for purposes of direct marketing for their own similar products or services,
3. the customer has not objected to the use of the address and
4. the customer is clearly and explicitly informed when their address is collected and upon every use of their address that they can object at all times to any further use of their address without any costs arising beyond the basic cost of transmission.
Source: Bundesministerium der Justiz (German Federal Department of Justice)
