Published 16 March 2023 at 10.55
Domestic. Sveriges Radio's financial expert Patrick Siegbahn “warned” in a blog on his company's website about one of the company's competitors. Now the initiative is rejected in the Patent and Market Court, which prohibits Siegbahn's advisory company Småspararguiden from continuing to spread the blog post.
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The financial advisor Patrick Siegbahn participates regularly in Sweden's Radio's program Plånboken. There he answers listener questions and gives advice on personal finances and saving.
Siegbahn also owns and runs the advisory company Småspararguiden, where he and his colleague Andreas Runnemo offer “independent financial advice” for 1 SEK 950 an hour.
In autumn 2021, the Småspararguiden was sued by a competing advisory company, Kapitalgruppen. The background to the dispute was that Siegbahn, in a post on Småspararguiden's blog, had “warned” about Kapitalgruppen and urged readers to use Småspararguiden instead. The Kapitalgruppen claimed in its lawsuit that the blog post contained a series of incorrect statements about the Kapitalgruppen and was improper marketing for Småspararguiden's own advice.
During the process in the Patent and Markets Court, Småspararguiden defended itself by saying that in addition to financial advice, it also engaged in for journalism. The post about Kapitalgruppen was a journalistic review which, unlike advertising, enjoyed constitutional protection and could not be banned, argued Småspararguiden.
The Patent and Market Court has now issued a judgment in the case. The court follows Kapitalgruppen's line and condemns Småspararguiden for improper marketing. The post is not a journalistic review but an advertisement for Småspararguiden, the court concludes.
According to the court, the post also contains a number of misleading statements about Kapitalgruppen. It is therefore the issue of inappropriate marketing that must be prohibited under the Marketing Act.
The court also obliges Småspararguiden to compensate Kapitalgruppen for its legal costs with SEK 423 000.
“This is of course a hard blow for Småspararguiden and for us personally, but the court has had its say and we have to accept that. At least for now. We will spend a few days licking the wounds and thinking about how to move forward,” writes Småspararguiden in a statement on its blog.
The Small Savings Guide further states that it is currently considering whether to appeal the verdict. Another option that is being considered is to shut down the business and put the company into bankruptcy, as Småspararguiden says it cannot afford to pay the compensation for court costs it has been ordered to pay.
“Småspararguiden has had the opportunity during the trial to defend the claims made about the Capital Group and substantiate these with concrete evidence in the form of witnesses or relevant documents. The court review has not prevented the Small Savings Guide from making its voice heard. On the other hand, Kapitalgruppen has been able to carry out an impartial and objective examination of the content of Småspararguiden's post. That trial has turned out in the Kapitalgruppen's favor,” the Kapitalgruppen writes on its website.
Shortly after the Small Savers Guide was sued, Sweden's Radio's program Medierna – in which Siegbahn participated several times before – gave Siegbahn the opportunity to give his view on the dispute in a longer interview. Now that the court has ruled that Siegbahn's post was misleading advertising, on the other hand, there is silence in Sveriges Radio.