Countries › Dominican Republic › Guide › 13. Regulation › Unfair competition

Unfair competition

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Status: Stable

Ley 42-08 bans acts against good faith that illegitimately divert demand, such as deception, confusion, denigration and misuse of trade secrets. Victims can go straight to the civil court without exhausting the agency, and need not be competitors. The one year limit is short.

Key facts

Time limit under Ley 42-08	1 yearsLey 42-08 art. 56, as of 2026-10-30 · in force
Agency route needed before court	No textLey 42-08 art. 12, as of 2026-10-30 · in force

The rule

1. Any act in trade contrary to good faith and business ethics, aimed at an illegitimate diversion of consumer demand, is unfair, unlawful and banned.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 10, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

2. The open list covers deception, confusion, undue comparison, systematic imitation, breach of trade secrets, gaining an advantage by breaching a rule, denigration, and inducing breach of contract.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 11, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

3. Gaining from breach of a rule counts only if the advantage is significant and harms competitors as a direct result.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 11, breach of rules, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

4. Comparison is unfair if it rests on points that cannot be objectively checked or contains false data. Clearly subjective messages that a reasonable consumer sees as opinion are outside.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 11 literal c, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

5. Inducing a lawful termination, or using another's breach, is unfair only if it aims to spread a secret or comes with deceit, intent to eliminate a rival or the like.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 11, inducement, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

6. No competitive relationship is needed between the parties. Those harmed can go to the first instance court of the defendant's domicile without administrative steps.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 12, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

7. If they start the agency route instead, they cannot claim damages until the board's final decision.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 12, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

8. Remedies are a declaration with a stop order if harm continues, rectification, and damages where there was intent or fault. Anyone in the market whose economic interests are directly harmed or threatened can sue.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 55 and paragraph II, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

9. The action reaches whoever did, ordered or knowingly helped the act.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 55 paragraph III, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

10. The action lapses one year after the conduct stops.Ley 42-08 General de Defensa de la Competencia, art. 56, 2008-01-16 official text · verified 2026-10-30

11. Ley 20-00 has its own unfair competition chapter for distinctive signs and trade secrets. An action there has its own limit article.Ley 20-00 sobre Propiedad Industrial, arts. 176 to 184, 2000-05-08 official text · verified 2026-10-30

Step by step

Capture the evidence: adverts, labels, messages, dates.
Choose court or agency. Court allows damages at once; the agency route delays them.
Send a demand if speed is not critical; check the one year limit first.
Ask for a stop order and rectification together, as art. 55 allows one filing for several actions.
For brand or secret cases, read Ley 20-00 alongside.

Common traps

Choosing the agency route delays your damages claim.
The limit is one year, far shorter than most commercial claims.
Damages need intent or fault; stop orders do not.
Hiring a rival's staff is not unfair in itself, but inducing breach with deceit or to get secrets is.
Comparative adverts are lawful only if true and checkable. Keep the test data.
Non compliance with tax or labor rules can be pleaded as unfair competition if the advantage is significant.

Sources

← Competition investigations, leniency and commitmentsPersonal data protection →

Get rule changes weekly

Free. One email a week from The LatAm Thread.

One more step after you press the button: we take you to Substack, where your email is already filled in. Confirm there to start. No spam, unsubscribe anytime, we never share your address. By subscribing you agree to the privacy policy.