1

Ethiopian Unfair Competition Law: A Critical Evaluation

Alemayehu Fentaw*

What is unfair competition, and how does the Ethiopian legal system protect against it? This article aims

at exploring Ethiopian unfair competition law with a view to analysing the concept of unfair competition,

situations of unfair competition, remedies available to victims of unfair competition, and other issues

arising thereof.

Why Unfair Competition Law?

It is a fundamental tenet of economic liberalism, which, being an exceedingly broad doctrine, very

roughly refers to “the view that the best economic order is a free market”1, that competition is desirable

and necessary. Underlying this is the belief that robust competition between commercial rivals keeps

prices low, quality high, and provides overall economic efficiency. Competition law rests upon the

premise that healthy competition is good both for traders2 and for consumers. If traders compete on a

level playing field, they will flourish, and consumers are more likely to pay lower prices, and get better

quality and more choice.

“A core problem posed by a private market as a system of economic organization is the following. The

market is based on the idea of individual pursuit of self-interest. At the same time, however, a market

system will work best if there is a clear limit to self-interest. The pursuit of self-interest should not exceed

to various forms of opportunism, such as cheating, lying, and other types of deception, misrepresentation,

and corruption within the marketplace.”P.268… “Francis Fukuyama comments that “ the ability to
1
* Assistant Lecturer-in-Law, Research and Publications, and Moot Courts Coordinator, Faculty of Law, Jimma
University, Ethiopia.
Maryanne Cline Horowitz(ed.), New Dictionary of the History Ideas, Vol.3,(Thomson Gale, New Haven, Conn. : 2005), p.
1267
2
In order to avoid verbosity, the term “traders” throughout the text of this article is deliberately used to include business
organizations.
 2

cooperate socially is dependent on prior habits, traditions, and norms, which themselves serve to structure

the market.” As a result, the very ability of a society to maintain “a successful market economy…is

codetermined by the prior factor of social capital.” Experience has shown that “ a healthy capitalist

economy is one in which there will be sufficient social capital in the underlying society to permit

businesses, corporations, networks, and the like to be self-organizing.” This social capital is found in such

things as attitudes of trust, commitments to honest behavior, respect for property rights, and-perhaps most

important in many societies- the bonds of social cohesion that allow for effective collective action

(including the maintenance of the market institution itself).” P.269( Robert H. Nelson, Economics As

Religion- From Samuelson to Chicago and Beyond( The Pennsylvania State University Press, PA: 2001)

One major purpose of unfair competition law is to assure that competition is fairly and properly carried

on. The rules against unfair competition aim at securing fair competition for traders through the

preservation of goodwill. The second chief aim of the rules against unfair competition is to safeguard

consumers’ interest through the preservation of goodwill. The first purpose seems direct and self-evident

whilst the second would appear to be indirect and remote. The key to understanding this is to grasp the

presumption behind the second objective. That goodwill and consumers’ expectations, however divergent,

are directly related. Thus, a certain consumer, who is a habitual customer of a given trader, has a

legitimate interest in the preservation of the trader’s goodwill, precisely because, in the eyes of the

consumer, it is this trader and only this trader who can market products or services of the best quality or

of the most quantity or of his taste or whatever at a relatively lower price. Put differently, the consumers’

interest consists in their right not to be deceived, misled, confused, or wronged as to the business,

products/services, or commercial activities of the trader whom they look up to and continue to patronize.3

3
For instance, the advantages of protecting trademarks are that they lower consumer search costs and foster quality control
rather than create social waste and consumer deception. For more on the topic, see William M. Landes and Richard A. Posner,
Trademark Law: An Economic Perspective, 30 Journal of Law & Economics 265, 269 (1987). See also Stanley M. Besen and
 3

The danger of unfair competition from the viewpoint of traders consists in the erosion or loss of their

goodwill. The harm that a competitor does to his rival through unfair competition, in effect, is to cut down

or take away his clientele. However, each and every act of taking away a trader’s clients does not amount

to an act of unfair competition. This is so, because such clients may be taken away by virtue of honest and

proper competition. A case in point is a competitor taking away a good portion of his rival’s clientele by

offering a product or service of better quality.

Yet, there are other trade practices that aim at taking away a competitor’s clients and thereby cutting

down the goodwill, which are presumed to be unfair and improper, and, as such, are prohibited by law. In

this sense, commerce is like a game in which competitors must play by the rules, which are the rules

against unfair competition.4

The law of unfair competition is primarily comprised of torts that cause an economic injury to a business,

through a deceptive or wrongful business practice. In the words of Everett Goldberg, “Unfair competition

is a particular type of extra-contractual liability. …Unfair competition is a type of liability based upon

fault.”5 Therefore, unfair competition, as a species of extra-contractual liability, can be broken down into

two categories: on the one hand, commercial unfair competition and on the other, civil unfair competition.

The definition of commercial unfair competition in Art.133 of the Commercial Code has been

supplemented recently by Trade Practice Proclamation No. 329/2003. Besides supplementing the

Leo J. Raskind., An Introduction to the Law and Economics of Intellectual Property, The Journal of Economic Perspectives,
Volume 5, Issue 1Winter, 1991, 3-27. Commenting on the evolution the jurisprudence of trademark protection, Besen and
Raskind write“[T]he legal theory of protection was…to prevent a second entrant from unfairly appropriating the value of a
successful trademark, service mark, or trade dress. Thus, the protection of trademarks has evolved as a form of indirect
protection of the consumer by insuring that purchasing decisions are based on marks that properly identify the product and its
source.”
4
Everett F. Goldberg, The Protection of Trademarks in Ethiopia, Journal of Ethiopian Law, Vol.VIII,No.I,p.134
5
Ibid,p.139
 4

Commercial Code’s definitional provision of commercial unfair commercial competition, the Trade

Practice Proclamation broadens its scope of protection. It prohibits three categories of unfair trade

practices:

 anti-competitive practices,

 unfair competition, and

 abuse of dominance

Generally, unfair trade practices which may affect trade within Ethiopia are prohibited by the Commercial

Code, the Civil Code, Trade Practice Proclamation, Trademarks Registration and Protection

Proclamation, and the Criminal Code. However, since the scope of this article is limited to the second

category of unfair trade practices known as “unfair competition”, no attempt shall be made to treat the

remaining two categories.

What is the Nexus between Business, Goodwill, and Unfair Competition Law?

Article 124 of the Commercial Code defines business as “an incorporeal movable consisting of all

movable property brought together and organised for the purpose of carrying out any of the commercial

activities specified in Art.5 of this Code.” (Italics mine.)Thus, the ultimate essence or quality of any

business, as can be gathered from the above definitional provision, is its incorporeality irrespective of the

existence of corporeal elements. The importance of the incorporeal elements figures in prominently under

Article 127, which stipulates:

(1) A business consists mainly of a goodwill.

A business may consist of other incorporeal elements such as:

(a) the trade-name;

(b) the special designation under which the trade is carried on;

(c) the right to lease the premises in which the trade is carried on;

(d) patents or copyrights;

(e) such special rights as attach to the business itself and not to the trader. (Emphasis added)

According to Art. 128, the corporeal elements that make up a business include equipments and goods.

Therefore, what transpires from Chapter 2, of Title 4, of Book I of the Commercial Code is the fact

that immovables, i.e. the business premises and the land on which the premises has been erected, had

been excluded from the ambit of the definition of the elements of a business. Of course, a naïve and

shallow-minded person will find it odd to see that only one aspect of the immovables, namely the

right to the lease of the premises6, was incorporated in the enumeration of the elements a business.

The oddity, none the less, will wither away no sooner than he realizes the lease right’s inextricable

link with the goodwill of the business.

In a nutshell, the term “business” embraces tangible and intangible assets, including tools,

equipments, raw materials, goods in stock, good will, trade name, trade mark, patent, copy right, and

the right to lease of the premises. But, immovable properties cannot form part of the business (fonds

de commerce). Hence, the land or buildings which form of the business premises and the fixtures on

such premises are no part of the business, even though they are owned by the trader himself. To a

greater degree, the business is regarded as an entity distinct from its constituent elements, as long as

the whole is more valuable than the sum of the constituent parts. In this sense, the business is a res,

thing, or object over which a person can exercise property rights, including ownership, usufruct, and

lease.7

6
Comm.Code, Art.129
7
See Art.125(3), Arts.150-209, Comm.Code
 6

In view of the foregoing, what is goodwill, and why is it of enormous value? Why is it that a business

is mainly consisted of goodwill? Since the definition of goodwill in Art.130 of the Commercial Code

is defective, it is of little help to us. This is so, precisely because it fails to tell us the essence or nature

of goodwill. Instead of doing the proper job of a definition, it gives you an extra piece of information

concerning its origin and the obvious thing that goodwill has a value. Art. 130, reads:

The goodwill results from the creation and operation of a business and is of a value which

may vary according to the probable or possible relations between a trader and third parties

who may require from him goods or services. (Emphasis added.)

With respect to the origin of goodwill, Art.130 tells you that it “results from the creation and operation

of a business.” In my humble opinion, this part of the definition adds nothing up to the stock of

knowledge of any academic lawyer, so long as the fact that goodwill originates from the creation and

operation of a business has already been made crystal-clear from preceding provisions on elements of

business. Goodwill, being the main constituent element of a business, results from the creation of

business. The second part of the definition, which says goodwill is of a value, too, adds little to your

craving for understanding the essence of goodwill.

In order to appreciate the very essence of goodwill, I propose to consider two legal lexical definitions

of the term as found in the Black’s Law Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary of Law respectively.

A business's reputation, patronage, and other intangible assets that are considered

when appraising the business, esp. for purchase; the ability to earn income in excess

of the income that would be expected from the business viewed as a mere collection

of assets. • Because an established business's trademark or servicemark is a symbol

of goodwill, trademark infringement is a form of theft of goodwill. By the same

token, when a trademark is assigned, the goodwill that it carries is also assigned….

"[Goodwill] is only another name for reputation, credit, honesty, fair name,
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reliability." … "Good will is to be distinguished from that element of value referred

to variously as going-concern value, going value, or going business. Although some

courts have stated that the difference is merely technical and that it is unimportant to

attempt to separate these intangibles, it is generally held that going-concern value is

that which inheres in a plant of an established business."8

The advantage arising from the reputation and trade connections of a business, in

particular the likelihood that existing customers will continue to patronize it.9

Accordingly, unfair competition law is nothing but one of the devices designed to protect or preserve

the goodwill of a business. As per Art.131, two alternative courses of action have been put at the

disposal of a trader in the hope of enabling him to effectively safeguard his goodwill. The first course

of action available to such a trader is to bring an unfair competition claim under Art.133 of the

Commercial Code. The second is to institute a proceeding based on the legal or contractual

prohibitions specified in Art. 30,40,47,55,144,158,159,204 and 205 of the Commercial Code.

For the moment it suffices to say that there is a common thread passing through all instantiations of

unfair competition: utilizing or assailing someone else’s commercial reputation for commercial

benefit. This commercial reputation, more often than not, is referred to, in legal parlance, as the

“goodwill” of a business.

8
Bryan A. Garner(ed.) , Black’s Law Dictionary, 8th ed. (West Group, St. Paul: Minn., 2004)
9
Elisabeth A. Martin(ed.), Oxford Dictionary of Law, 5th ed.( Oxford University Press, 2003)
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Commercial Unfair Competition

Art.133 sets forth acts of competition that regarded as unfair:

(1) Any act of competition contrary to honest commercial practice shall constitute a fault.

(2) The following shall be deemed to be acts of unfair competition:

(a) any acts likely to mislead customers regarding the undertaking, products or commercial activities

of a competitor;

(b) any false statements made in the course of business with a view to discrediting the undertaking,

products or commercial activities of a competitor.[Emphasis added.]

Art.133 has been modelled upon the Convention of Paris for the Protection of Industrial Property of 1833,

as amended. Thus, one should not be taken aback if the definition of unfair competition in Art.133

follows closely Art.10bis of the Paris Convention. For the purpose of comparison, the full content of

Art.10bis is reproduced below:

(1) The countries of the Union are bound to assure to persons entitled to the benefits of the Union effective

protection against unfair competition.

(2) Any act of competition contrary to honest practices in industrial or commercial matters constitutes an act
of unfair competition.

(3) The following in particular shall be prohibited:

1.all acts of such a nature as to create confusion by any means whatever with the establishment, the goods,

or the industrial or commercial activities, of a competitor;

2.false allegations in the course of trade of such a nature as to discredit the establishment, the goods, or the

industrial or commercial activities, of a competitor;

3.indications or allegations the use of which in the course of trade is liable to mislead the public as to the

nature, the manufacturing process, the characteristics, the suitability for their purpose, or the quantity, of

the goods.10

10
Peter Winship(trans.), Background Documents to the Commercial Code of 1960 of Ethiopia,
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As quick look at the above cited provisions discloses, the definition of unfair competition in Art.133 is

substantially the same as the 1st and 2nd alineas of sub-Arts (2) and (3) of Art.10bis of the Paris

Convention.

Implicit in the notion of commercial unfair competition are two ideas: unfairness and competition. Before

we move onto a discussion of the unfairness aspect, a few words are in order about the competition

aspect. Competition presupposes the existence of competitors. Competitors are traders who are trying to

reach the same customers. In other words, competitors are traders who offer products or services in the

same market. Thus, inherent in the idea of competition are three elements: they must be selling similar

products, in the same area, and at the same time. Consider the following counterexamples:

(1) A trader who produces coffee beans is not in competition with a trader who

grows roses. In economic parlance, the goods or services have to be at least

substitutes.

(2) A trader who exports bottled potable water is not in competition with a trader

who markets bottled potable water only in Ethiopia.

(3) A trader who ceases to offer products or services for sale or does not yet offer

products or services for sale is no longer in competition with a trader who does.

Turning to a tentative treatment of the unfairness aspect, Art.133 gives us two standards whereby we can

designate certain acts of commercial competition as unfair. The first, which I may call the general

standard, is provided for in sub-art.(1). The second, which might be called the specific standard, is

provided for in sub-art(2). The specific standard can further be broken down into two alternative

requirements: likelihood of confusion and false discreditory statements. In connection with the scope of

these standards, the first, by contrast, is broader than the second in that it is difficult, if not impossible, to
 10

figure out, at a given point in time and space(i.e, now and here), all possible situations of unfair

competition that it covers. Put differently, the scope of activities prohibited by the general standard of

unfair competition in sub-art.(1) is wider than the specific acts mentioned in sub-art.(2).As a result, this

provision can be construed as a catch-all for all forms of unfair competition falling outside the purview of

sub-art.(2). Unfair competition, as defined in sub-art.(1), expresses the idea that a particular act of

competition is to be condemned as unfair because it is inconsistent with the community’s currently

accepted standards of honest practice. Thus, unfair competition depends upon commercial custom in

determining what acts are honest and what are not. By virtue of its flexibility, the general standard

requires judges to exercise their discretionary powers. In exercising their judicial discretion, the judges

must take into account the peculiarities of each case as well as the historical and cultural context in which

the case arises.11 Therefore, the following discussion shall focus upon the specific standard.

The Specific Standard

A. Misleading Commercial Practices

A confusion analysis has to be made to reach a decision pursuant to sub-art (2) (a) of Art. 133. Any act

gives rise to liability if it is “likely to mislead customers”, though it does not create actual confusion. It

is sufficient that an act passes the test of likelihood of confusion. One standard example of an act of

unfair competition that is likely to mislead or confuse customers is trademark infringement. To prove a

claim of unfair competition based upon trademark infringement, it is not necessary to prove actual confusion of

specific customers. Proof of the likelihood of confusion in the market circumstances satisfies the requirement,

so that similarity between two marks can make the case for unfair competition. Strictly speaking, sub-art.(2)(a)

does not grant legal rights in trademarks beyond registration. However, sub-art(2)(a) affords a remedy for unfair

competition involving special designations, including trademarks. Unlike trademark infringement claims

under the Trademarks Registration and Protection Proclamation, unfair competition claims do not

require any registered marks. As a result, sub-art(2) (a) of Art.133 involve all unfair competition claims
11
Goldberg, supra at n. 5, p.135
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based upon trademark infringement and extend further to cover other situations of unfair competition.

A likelihood of confusion exists when there is confusion as to the enterprise/undertaking/business,

products and services, or commercial activities. More particularly, confusion may occur with respect to

any of the following:

(a) trade-names

(b) distinguishing marks

(c) the appearance of a product,

(d) the presentation, including advertising, of products or services

B. False Discrediting Statements

Sub-art.(2) (b) of Art.133 broadens the touchstone of liability for unfair competition by making actionable any false

statement that is likely to discredit or compromise the reputation of a business or its activities, when made in a

competitive context. A claim of unfair competition under sub-art.(2)(b) requires a showing that a party

made misrepresentations in the course of business. The elements an alleged injured party must show to

sustain a claim of unfair competition based on false discrediting statements are:

1. a party uses any false statement,

2. in the course of business,

3. to misrepresent the nature, characteristics, qualities or

geographic origin of a competitor's undertaking, goods or services.

4. with the purpose of discrediting the establishment, products or services of a competitor.

Typically, situations that fall under sub-art.(2)(b) include, if not limited to, false advertising. Here, it has

to be emphasized that any false allegations made, in the course of business, against the person, rather than

against his undertaking, products or services, do not fall under sub-art.(2)(b). Such cases may constitute

defamation, subject to the fulfillment of the requirements in Arts.2044-2049 of the Civil Code.

Art. 134. – Effect of unfair competition.

(1) The court may, in cases of unfair competition:

(a) order that damages be paid by the unfair competitor; and

(b) make such orders as are necessary to put an end to the unfair competition.

(2) The court may in particular:

(a) order the publication, at the costs of the unfair competitor, of notices designed to remove

the effect of the misleading acts or statements of the unfair competitor to cease this

unlawful acts in accordance with Art. 2120 of the Civil Code.

(b) order the unfair competitor to cease this unlawful acts in accordance with Art. 2122 of the

Civil Code.

Trade Practice Proclamation No. 329/2003, Art.10

The declared aim of the Trade Practice Proclamation, in keeping with the free market economic policy of

the country, is maximizing economic efficiency and social welfare by promoting competition and
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regulating anti-competitive practices.12 In particular, the proclamation has two objectives: to secure fair

competitive process through the prevention and elimination of anti-competitive and unfair trade practices,

on the one hand and to safeguard the interests of consumers through the prevention and elimination of

any restraints on the efficient supply and distribution of goods and services, on the other. 13 To this end,

this legislation comes up with three distinct categories of trade practices that are deemed as unfair trade

practices by the Ethiopian legislature, namely: anti-competitive practices, unfair competition, and abuse

of dominance.

In what follows, I shall focus on Article 10 of the Trade Practice Proclamation No.329. Here, again, it has

to be borne in mind, as a caveat, that the scope of activities prohibited by sub-Art.(1) is broader than the

specific acts enumerated in sub-Art.(2), though the list in the latter is more elaborate and lengthier than

its counterpart in the Commercial Code.

Unfair Competition

1) Any act or practice, in the course of commercial activities, that aims at eliminating competitors

through different methods shall be deemed to be an act of unfair competition.

2) The following activities, in particular, shall be deemed to be acts of of unfair competition.

(a) Any act that causes , or is likely to cause, confusion with respect to another enterprise or

its activities, in particular, the products or services offered by such enterprise;

(b) Any act that damages , or is likely to damage the goodwill or reputation of another

enterprise falsely;

(c) Any act that misleads or is likely to mislead the public with respect to an enterprise or its

activities, in particular, the products or services offered by such enterprise;

(d) Any act of disclosure, acquisition or use of information without the consent of the rightful

holder of that information in a manner contrary to honest commercial practice ;

12
The Trade Practice Proclamation No.329/2003, Preamble
13
Ibid, Art.3
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(e) Any false or unjustifiable allegation that discredits, or is likely to discredit with respect to

another enterprise or its activities, in particular the products or services offered by such

enterprise;

(f) Any act that directly or indirectly restricts, impedes or weakens the competitive production

and distribution of any commercial good or the rendering of any service;

(g) Any act that restricts or debars the timely or economic means of producing or distributing

any good or rendering of any service;

(h) The importation of any goods from any foreign country into Ethiopia at a price less than

the actual market price or wholesale price of such goods in the principal markets of the

country of their production with the intent to destroy or injure the production of such

goods in Ethiopia or to restrict or monopolize any part of trade in such goods;

(i) Trading in any manner in goods imported into Ethiopia for humanitarian purpose without

authorization by the Ministry.( Emphasis added.)

In connection with the definition of unfair competition in Art.10 of Proclamation No.329/2003, I should

say the following by way of commentary. First, it is important to bear in mind that the logical

organization of Art.10 is parallel to that of Art.133 of the Commercial Code. Despite the absence of the

test of honest commercial practice in sub-art.(1) of Art.10, unlike sub-art.(1) of Art.133, both deploy

general standards: likelihood of elimination of competitors in the former and contrariness to honest

commercial practice in the latter Also sub-arts.(2) of the two articles consist in specific standards. The

difference between these sub-articles lies in the former’s inclusion of such activities as provided for in

(d), (f), (g), (h), and (i). In my opinion, the whole of the provisions under sub-art(2) can be reformulated

in such a manner as to avoid redundancy, which I suspect has been an outcome of bad legislative

draftsmanship. In this regard, my proposal is to merge some of the provisions together.

(a) and (c): Misleading/confusing activities;

(b) and (e): False discrediting statements;

(d): Secret information;

(f) and (g):Restricting, impeding, debarring, or weakening the competitive(efficient)

production and distribution of goods and services;

(h): Dumping, and

(i): Trading in humanitarian aid.

With respect to sub-art.(2)(d), it is interesting to note two serious pitfalls. That the information has to be

secret is self-evident inasmuch as what is prohibited is the acquisition, disclosure, or use of such

information contrary to honest commercial practice. But, what kind of information is considered secret is

not clear. Besides, the legislation fails to pin down the nature of the sort of information that it purports to

protect. The legislation should have made it explicit that to qualify for protection, a piece of information

should not only be secret, but also a trade secret.14

14
It is informative to consider, at this point in time, the manner in which other legal systems deal with the same problem. For
example, Art.8(2) of the Protection Against Unfair Competition Act of 1998 of Barbados defines the term “secret information”
as follows:
“ For the purpose of this Act, information shall be considered “secret information” if
(a) it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components, generally known among or readily
accessible to persons that normally would have knowledge of or access to the kind of information in question;
(b) it has commercial value because it is a secret; and
(c) the rightful holder has taken responsible steps under the circumstances to keep it secret.”
Cf. Sub-art.(1) of same to see how the law of Barbados attempts to establish the nature of the secret information.
The Uniform Trade Secrets Act, §1(4) (1979), defines trade secret as “information including a formula,
pattern, compilation, program, device, method technique, or process, that: (i) derives independent economic
value, actual or potential, from not being generally known to, and not being readily ascertainable by proper
means by, other persons who can obtain value from its disclosure or use, and (ii) is the subject of efforts that
are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain its secrecy.”
See also Art.39 (1) and (2) of Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights(TRIPS), which reads:
(1) In the course of ensuring effective protection against unfair competition as provided in Art.10bis of the Paris
Convention (1967), Members shall protect undisclosed information….
(2) Natural and legal persons shall have the possibility of preventing information lawfully within their control from being
disclosed to, acquired by, or used by others without their consent in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices
so long as such information:
 16

Finally, I wish to point out one substantive and another procedural loophole in the Proclamation. With

respect to the substantive lacuna, no where in the text of the Proclamation, unlike the Commercial Code,

is it provided that a violation of any provisions thereof constitutes a fault. Of course, there is no question

that any infringement of a specific and explicit provision of a law constitutes a civil offence by virtue of

Article 2035 of the Civil Code. Consequently, it is doubtful whether a judicial remedy is available for a

plaintiff claiming under Art.10 of the Proclamation in the first instance, rather than under Art.2035 of the

Civil Code, as long as the only type of remedy mentioned by the Proclamation is administrative measures

or/and penalty. The Proclamation provides for four distinct kinds of administrative measures. Article 25

stipulates that:

The Commission may impose the following administrative

measures, where any person violate the provisions of this

Proclamation, Regulations, Public Notice or Directives issued for the

implementation of same.

1. Suspend, correct or eliminate the practice in question;

2. Suspend or cancel business license;

3. Take any appropriate measure that enable the victim’s

competitive position to be reinstated;

4. Seizure and selling of goods that are subject to price

regulations, provided that the proceeds less any selling expense

shall be paid to the owner, who in no case shall demand

interest or any other payments.

(a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and assembly of its components,
generally known among or readily accessible to persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of
information in question;
(b) has commercial value because it is secret; and
(c) has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person lawfully in control of the
information, to keep it secret.
 17

Moreover, the Proclamation imposes fines upon defendants who have been proven to

have violated any provision thereof by way of penalty. Article 26 reads:

Without prejudice administrative measures that may be taken

pursuant to Article 25 of this Proclamation, the Commission may

impose the following penalties where any person violates the

provisions of this Proclamation or Regulations, Public Notice or

Directives issued for the implementation of the same.

1. Fine upto 10% of the value of the total assets of the violator or

15% of yearly total gross sales of the violator, alternatively.

2. Fine from 5,000.00(five thousands) upto Birr 50,000.00(fifty

thousands) where the direct or indirect cooperation of any

individual in any prohibited practice is proven.

In addition, the Proclamation, in its Article 27, sets forth factors that the Investigation

Commission should take into account while assessing the amount of fines. As a result,

the Commission is expected to take stock of such factors as the extent of the damaged

caused, the market share of the violator, the size of the market affected, and the

financial status of the violator.

Turning to the procedural issue, neither the Civil Procedure Code nor the Proclamation has a rule on

pendency which precludes an administrative tribunal from adjudicating a matter brought before it at any

time subsequent to the institution of a civil matter in a competent court of law. The Proclamation

incorporates a rule on appeal, instead of one on pendency. According to Article 17(1), any party may

appeal to the Federal High Court against any administrative measures or/and penalty decisions within 30

days from the date that he was aware of the approval of the execution. Besides, sub-Art.(2) of the same

prohibits the Ministry of Trade and Industry from executing any decision before the expiry of the 30 days
 18

period. In this connection, I wish to raise the following issues. First, what is the legal ramification of sub-

Art.(1) of Article 17? Does it divest Federal First Instance Courts of their jurisdiction to hear and decide

unfair competition claims under Article 10 in the first instance? As long as all that the said provision talks

about is the appellate power of the Federal High Court and as long as there is no explicit provision

prohibiting Federal First Instance Courts from assuming jurisdiction over lawsuits for unfair competition

in the first instance, the author contends that Federal First Instance Courts must have competence to

adjudicate such matters. If so, at this point, the procedural problem pointed out earlier figures in

prominently, viz. if it is the case that both forums, the judiciary and the administrative tribunal, have

competence to hear and decide claims for unfair competition in the first instance, will it be fair and

expeditious to allow the parties continue litigating in these two different arenas? Can a plaintiff be entitled

to recover damages twice?

Criminal Unfair Competition

Art.719 of the Criminal Code provides that:

(a) Whoever intentionally commits the goods, dealings or products or with the activities or business

of another; or

(b) by using inaccurate or false styles, distinctive signs, marks or professional titles in order to induce

a belief as to his particular status or capacity; or by granting or offering undue benefits to the

servants, agents or assistants of another, in order to induce them to fail in their duties or

obligations in their work or to induce them to discover or reveal any secret of against another, an

abuse of economic competition by means of direct or any other process contrary to the rules of

good faith in business, in particular:

(c) by discrediting another, his goods or dealings, his activities of business or by making untrue or

false statements as to his own goods, dealings, activities or business in order to derive a benefit

therefrom against his competitors; or

(d) by taking measures such as to create confusion with manufacture, organization or working; or
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(e) by revealing or taking advantage of such secrets obtained or revealed in any other manner contrary

to good faith,

is punishable, upon complaint, with a fine of not less than one thousand Birr, or simple imprisonment for

not less than three months.

Conclusion

Competition law consists of enforceable legal rules applicable to commercial tactics and transactions

involving traders. The rules against unfair competition usually prohibit commercial conduct that is anti-

competitive in nature and would conflict with consumer’s interest. So the law of unfair competition is

primarily comprised of torts that cause an economic injury to a business, through a deceptive or wrongful

business practice.

One discrepancy existing between Article 133 of the Commercial Code and Article 10 of Proclamation

No239/2003 concerns the standards deployed under the first provision of both articles. A certain

competitive tactic or strategy is said to be unfair in pursuance of Sub-Art.(1) of Article 133 if it is found

to be contrary to honest commercial practice. Nevertheless, an act of competition turns out to be unfair in

accordance with Sub-Art.(1) of Article 10 of Proclamation No.329/2003, provided that it aims at

eliminating competitors whatever the mental state of the competitor. The problem posed by the above

textual discrepancy looms larger in the face of the Repeal Clause of the Proclamation, which reads: “Any

law or practices inconsistent with this proclamation shall be inapplicable with regard to matters provided

for in this proclamation.” By virtue of this inconsistency, the provision of sub-Art.(1) of Article 133

would seem to have been superseded by that of sub-Art.(1) of Art.10.