Chip.de wrapped Stiftung Warentest winners in affiliate links; Frankfurt court banned it

On 17 September 2026 the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court (case 2-03 O 313/25) granted Stiftung Warentest's complaint in its entirety against chip.de, the consumer portal that averaged over 20 million users a month in 2024. Chip.de may no longer advertise with the foundation's mark and logo in the form at issue, nor reproduce its test results in that form without consent.

Three articles drove the case: a 2 February 2025 washing-machine round-up with over 40 links to product listings, ratings and price comparisons; a 28 June 2025 showerhead table reproducing the foundation's paywalled individual ratings with 12 affiliate links and unlicensed test logos on two product images; and an 8 July 2025 dog-food piece listing four top-rated products from a 2022 test, also with affiliate links.

Talks about collaborating in 2019 produced nothing; in late 2024 the foundation sent journalists a draft agreement capping mentions at three reviews and banning affiliate links. After a cease-and-desist letter on 4 June 2025, chip.de proposed moving links into separate boxes, then pleaded editorial privilege, implied permission and estoppel. The court rejected it all: even a single direct purchase link can be an excessive promotional element, and with one to two affiliate links per product dominating the pages, readers would think commissions came first.

'Stiftung Warentest' is a well-known mark, and the court held that chip.de exploited public trust in it to pull readers toward sales offers without giving anything back. Treating each product test as a database, it also held that reproducing test winners, overall ratings and individual scores takes the core of a database the foundation charges 4.90 euros per report to access, cutting the revenue that finances its testing.

LG Frankfurt banned the practice in full on 17 September 2026 (case 2-03 O 313/25) — over 25% of chip.de's ad revenue rides on affiliate commissions

The articles' minimal editorial content was outweighed by affiliate links, so the court classed them as commercial acts rather than protected reporting.

Chip.de kept the practice up even after an unsigned 2024 draft agreement explicitly told it the foundation would not accept affiliate links, destroying any implied-consent argument.

Unlicensed test logos on product images compounded the trademark exposure.

More than 25% of chip.de's advertising revenue rides on transaction-based commissions, so the incentive to pack round-ups with links was structural rather than accidental.

Editorial privilege ends where monetised purchase links begin: courts read test round-ups dominated by affiliate links as sales pitches, and famous test marks come with a licence, not a free ride.

The injunction stands as of the reporting on 7 October 2026, with no appeal decision public. The court left open whether single overall ratings on one store's page also breach database law, and the legal commentary expects the database reasoning in particular to be tested on appeal. Stiftung Warentest licenses its logo for advertising through RAL gGmbH, which remains the sanctioned route for retailers and manufacturers.