The subject of the dispute was the discount system of a pharmacy, which provides for the granting of a bonus on the purchase of prescription drugs. On presentation of the completed bonus card, the pharmacy granted a discount of EUR 10.00 on the purchase of non-prescription medicines or reimbursed the practice fee paid by the customer.
In its ruling of April 11, 2008 (case no. 5 U 189/06), the KG Berlin assessed this form of granting discounts as a violation of the price maintenance provisions of §§ 78 AMG (German Medicinal Products Act), 1, 3 AMPreisV (German Medicinal Products Price Ordinance) and thus as a violation of competition law that must be refrained from. The provisions were undermined by the practice described because their protective purpose, namely to prevent the risk of economically inferior pharmacies being squeezed out of the market, was affected.
Due to the violation of the price maintenance regulations, the court did not have to deal with the further question of whether the bonus system constitutes an inadmissible advertising levy pursuant to Section 7 (1) sentence 1 HWG (Heilmittelwerbegesetz).
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