Key legal question
Whether the contractual non-compete in a dentist employment contract was valid under Art. 340 OR
Extracted holding
The non-compete was invalid because the employee's access to patients did not create the required causal link to a risk of substantial harm; in dental practice the employee's personal qualities were decisive.
Extracted reasoning
For free professions, especially dentistry, patient loyalty depends mainly on personal trust in the practitioner, not on mere knowledge of the clientele. Any harm from competition stems chiefly from the employee's own professional abilities, which Art. 340 OR does not restrain.