Observed Signal · Jun 24, 2026 · Legal Ruling · Source: persoenlich.com News · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Swiss Court Orders Ringier to Hand Over Profits
A Swiss appeals court confirmed that media company Ringier must disgorge profits earned from reporting found to have violated personality rights, reducing an initial CHF 309,000 award to CHF 140,000. The case was brought by Jolanda Spiess‑Hegglin over a series of four articles; the coverage by Blick began in December 2014. Ringier CEO Ladina Heimgartner had earlier described the first ruling as "a fatal blow to free journalism," but the company publicly softened its rhetoric after the second‑instance decision and said the amount remains "significantly higher than the actual profit." The piece notes that profit disgorgement is well established in Swiss law and that the Federal Supreme Court seldom re‑calculates such sums.
A notable Swiss legal precedent on profit disgorgement for personality‑infringing reporting that affects publisher legal risk and public rhetoric; limited direct impact on AdTech/MarTech.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- A Zug cantonal court initially ordered Ringier to disgorge CHF 309,000 in profits linked to four personality‑violating articles.
- A second‑instance court later confirmed the disgorgement but reduced the amount to CHF 140,000.
- The plaintiff in the case is Jolanda Spiess‑Hegglin; the coverage in question was run by Blick beginning in December 2014.
- Ringier CEO Ladina Heimgartner initially criticized the first ruling as endangering media freedom, but Ringier later 'welcomed' the appellate decision while calling the amount higher than the actual profit.
Connected Companies & Entities
3 Entities mapped“The Zug cantonal court obliged the Ringier group to disgorge the profits of CHF 309,000 that it had achieved with four personality‑violating...”
“Blick had run a campaign below the belt against the former Zug cantonal councillor beginning in December 2014, which led to the lawsuit by J...”
“persoenlich.com reported that the appellate court recently reduced the payment to Spiess‑Hegglin and published commentary about Ringier's ch...”
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Ringier Appeals Profit Surrender Ruling to Swiss Supreme Court
Swiss media group Ringier has filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court against a ruling by the High Court of Zug that ordered the company to surrender CHF 140,000 in profits generated from four articles in its Blick tabloid that were found to violate the personality rights of former cantonal councillor Jolanda Spiess-Hegglin. The lower court had previously set the amount at CHF 309,531, but the High Court reduced it based on revised calculations of online and print advertising revenues. Spiess-Hegglin declined to appeal, stating that the court confirmed her legal position and that the Federal Supreme Court will only delay the profit surrender. The dispute stems from Blick articles about a 2014 event where Ringier admitted to violating her personality rights. Spiess-Hegglin has hinted at further legal action covering 167 articles, which could involve significantly higher sums.
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