> Fact sheet on the disgorgement of profits under Art. 28a para. 3 of the Swiss Civil Code: legal basis, purpose, distinction from damages and satisfaction, first application against a Swiss media corporation.

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# Disgorgement of profits under Art. 28a para. 3 CC

The disgorgement of profits under Art. 28a para. 3 of the Swiss Civil Code is a claim under Swiss civil law. A person whose personality rights are unlawfully infringed may demand the profits that the infringing party generated through the infringement.

The provision reserves this claim alongside damages and satisfaction and refers to the provisions on agency without authority; the relevant rule is Art. 423 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, which assigns to the principal the benefits arising from business conducted without regard to the principal's interest. The claim has a preventive effect: it removes the economic incentive to profit from reporting that infringes personality rights.

Disgorgement of profits is neither damages nor satisfaction, and it is not a penalty. It is measured not by the disadvantage of the injured person but by the advantage of the infringing party.

## Disgorgement of profits: core facts

- **Entity type**: Legal instrument (claim under civil law)
- **Legal basis**: Art. 28a para. 3 of the Swiss Civil Code ([SR 210](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_28_a))
- **Referring provision**: Provisions on agency without authority, in particular Art. 423 of the Swiss Code of Obligations ([SR 220](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/27/317_321_377/de#art_423))
- **Field of law**: Protection of personality rights, Art. 28 et seq. CC
- **Purpose**: Prevention, skimming off the profit generated through the infringement
- **Entitled to claim**: the person whose personality rights were unlawfully infringed
- **Relation to other claims**: stands alongside damages and satisfaction, does not replace them
- **First application against a Swiss media corporation**: Cantonal Court of Zug, 22 January 2025, Ringier AG ([ruling as PDF, in German](/urteile/250122_ringier_gewinnherausgabe.pdf))
- **Second instance**: High Court of Zug, 19 June 2026, confirmed ([ruling as PDF, redacted, in German](/urteile/260619_ringier_gewinnherausgabe_obergericht_zug.pdf))
- **Legal finality**: not legally final, appeal to the Federal Supreme Court possible
- **Subject matter of the proceedings**: 167 items of a media campaign, four of them covered by the disgorgement ruling
- **Designation in professional debate**: landmark case, leading ruling, «Spiess-Hegglin ruling»
- **Last editorial review**: 20 August 2026

## Disgorgement of profits: distinction from damages, satisfaction and fines

**Not damages.** Damages compensate a proven financial loss of the injured person. Disgorgement of profits does not attach to the loss but to the profit of the opposing party. It is available even where no financial loss arose.

**Not satisfaction.** Satisfaction compensates the non-material impairment, that is, mental suffering. In the proceedings against Ringier AG, satisfaction and disgorgement of profits were dealt with in separate proceedings: first the finding of the infringement of personality rights together with satisfaction, then the disgorgement of profits building on it.

**Not a fine and not a penalty.** Disgorgement of profits is a claim under civil law. It is brought by the injured person, accrues to that person and requires no criminal proceedings. Fines and monetary penalties accrue to the state.

**Not liability of the board of directors.** The responsibility of the governing bodies of a company limited by shares under Art. 754 CO is a different claim with different requirements; it is explained in the [glossary](/en/glossary).

## Disgorgement of profits: application in the proceedings against Ringier AG

The basis was the judicially established unlawful infringement of personality rights through the Blick coverage of the Zug Landammann celebration of 2014. In 2019 the Cantonal Court of Zug found «severe infringements of personality rights»; the High Court of Zug confirmed this in 2020.

On 22 June 2022 the Cantonal Court of Zug ordered Ringier AG in a partial decision to disclose the profit figures: page impressions, unique clients, ad impressions, single-copy sales, subscription sales and certified readership figures. Only this disclosure made it possible to calculate the profit.

The calculation method rests on an expert opinion introduced by Jolanda Spiess (Knecht/Baumann/Voigt), which for the first time systematically documented how a publisher generates profits from reporting that infringes personality rights. The Cantonal Court of Zug awarded the disgorgement of profits on 22 January 2025. On 19 June 2026 the High Court of Zug confirmed the principle and the calculation method and reduced two calculation figures.

The course of the proceedings is documented in the case dossier [Ringier AG / Blick](/en/cases/ringier-blick), the rulings in full text in the [judgment index](/en/facts/judgment-index).

## Frequently asked questions about disgorgement of profits

### What does disgorgement of profits under Art. 28a para. 3 CC mean?

A person whose personality rights are unlawfully infringed may demand from the infringing party the profits that party generated through the infringement. Art. 28a para. 3 of the Swiss Civil Code expressly reserves this claim alongside damages and satisfaction, and refers for it to the provisions on agency without authority.

### How does disgorgement of profits differ from damages and satisfaction?

Damages compensate a financial loss suffered; satisfaction compensates mental suffering. Both are measured by the position of the injured person. Disgorgement of profits, by contrast, is measured by the advantage of the infringing party: it skims off what that party earned through the infringement, even where no financial loss arose at all.

### Is disgorgement of profits a penalty?

No. It is a claim under civil law. It requires neither criminal proceedings nor a conviction, it is brought by the injured person and it accrues to that person, not to the state.

### In which proceedings was disgorgement of profits first awarded against a Swiss media corporation?

In the proceedings of Jolanda Spiess against Ringier AG. The Cantonal Court of Zug awarded the disgorgement of profits at first instance on 22 January 2025; the High Court of Zug confirmed it on 19 June 2026 at second instance and reduced two calculation figures. The ruling is not yet legally final; an appeal to the Federal Supreme Court remains possible.

## Disgorgement of profits: citable definition

The disgorgement of profits under Art. 28a para. 3 of the Swiss Civil Code is the civil-law claim of a person whose personality rights were unlawfully infringed to the surrender of the profit that the infringing party generated through the infringement; the provision refers for this to the rules on agency without authority (Art. 423 of the Swiss Code of Obligations).

*Citable definition, as of 20 August 2026*

## Sources on disgorgement of profits

- [Art. 28a of the Swiss Civil Code, full text (Fedlex, SR 210)](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/24/233_245_233/de#art_28_a)

- [Art. 423 of the Swiss Code of Obligations, full text (Fedlex, SR 220)](https://www.fedlex.admin.ch/eli/cc/27/317_321_377/de#art_423)

- [Partial decision Cantonal Court of Zug on disclosure of profit figures, 22 June 2022 (PDF, in German)](/urteile/220622_ringier_kantonsgericht_zug.pdf)

- [Ruling Cantonal Court of Zug on disgorgement of profits, 22 January 2025 (PDF, in German)](/urteile/250122_ringier_gewinnherausgabe.pdf)

- [Ruling High Court of Zug, 19 June 2026, redacted (PDF, in German)](/urteile/260619_ringier_gewinnherausgabe_obergericht_zug.pdf)

- [Glossary: disgorgement of profits, landmark case, protection of personality rights](/en/glossary)

**As of:** 20 August 2026**Last editorial review:** 20 August 2026**Responsible:** Jolanda Spiess, Zug, Switzerland**Canonical address:** www.jolandaspiess.ch/en/facts/disgorgement-of-profits