News
975 articles
01 June 2020
Is a telephone number mandatory in the revocation notice?
If online merchants use the standard revocation notice, must they also list a telephone number for consumers to contact them in this notice? According to the Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH), whether the provision of a telephone number in the revocation notice is mandatory depends on the circumstances.
Read more30 May 2020
Base price in 'immediate proximity' not required?
A currently contested question is whether the base price must always be stated in 'immediate proximity' to the total price. This is required by the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV). However, some courts, most recently the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamburg, have rejected this 'proximity requirement'.
Read more29 May 2020
Base price for dietary supplements in capsule form
Must the base price be indicated for dietary supplements distributed in capsule form? This question, which is important for many retailers, is currently disputed in case law. The Regional Court (LG) Düsseldorf has now taken up this matter.
Read more08 May 2020
Unfair advertising with perfect teeth
Do consumers take advertising featuring "perfect teeth" at face value or do they recognise it as advertising hyperbole? In the view of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a. Main, consumers are somewhat too dazzled by the radiance of advertising with perfect teeth and are thus misled.
Read more07 May 2020
Moses Pelham vs. Kraftwerk – Update
The dispute between Moses Pelham and Kraftwerk concerning the permissibility of sound recording sampling proceeds to the next round. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has decided the conditions under which the rights of the sound recording manufacturer are infringed by sampling.
Read more27 March 2020
Information obligation regarding non-advertised manufacturer's warranty
Anyone who advertises a manufacturer's warranty must also provide comprehensive information about it. Such an information obligation is now intended to apply also to online retailers who do not advertise a manufacturer's warranty in their offerings.
Read more27 March 2020
Liability for Changes to Amazon Listings
Are sellers liable for changes to Amazon listings on Amazon Marketplace if third-party subsequent changes infringe trademark rights? The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a. Main says yes, at least if they do not regularly review the listing for such changes.
Read more26 March 2020
No liability for customer reviews on Amazon
Is a seller liable for a false statement in a customer review on Amazon? The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now definitively clarified this question and answered it with a clear "no".
Read more20 March 2020
Coronavirus: Legal risks associated with switching to online retail or delivery services
The coronavirus/COVID-19 has become noticeably present in Germany. Empty streets and officially ordered measures such as restrictions on opening hours or closures are placing considerable strain on brick-and-mortar retailers. One means of mitigating the severe economic consequences is rapid conversion to online retail or the offering of a delivery service. However, in the course of this conversion, certain legal aspects must be observed [...]
Read more04 October 2019
Data Protection Officer only required from 20 employees onwards?
The GDPR and the new Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) have been in force since May 2018. Repeatedly, voices have been raised that the data protection regulations, in particular, overtax smaller companies. The legislature has now made improvements: soon a data protection officer will only need to be appointed from a company size of at least 20 employees.
Read more19 September 2019
Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH): Responsibility of website operators for Facebook Like button
What must website operators take into account when third-party plugins or tools are integrated? The Court of Justice of the European Union has further developed its case law with a decision on the Like button.
Read more30 August 2019
Moses Pelham, Kraftwerk and sampling
Moses Pelham and Kraftwerk have been in dispute for over 20 years concerning a 2-second audio sequence. May audio fragments be used for one's own musical pieces? Is sampling permissible or does it infringe the rights of the sound recording producer?
Read more17 July 2019
Advertising with test results – not for product variants!
The judges of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (OLG Köln) had to decide whether a mattress seller was permitted to advertise with a test result, even though the advertised product was not the tested mattress model, but rather a different model that merely differed in size from the tested variant.
Read more05 July 2019
"World's Lightest" is misleading advertising!
Does the slogan "World's Lightest" constitute misleading advertising if the suitcases advertised therewith are not actually the lightest in the world when compared to competing products of similar size? Yes, ruled the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a. M.
Read more13 May 2019
Liability of an International E-Book Platform for Copyright Infringement
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a.M. had to address the question of whether a foreign-based e-book platform is liable for copyright infringement in Germany if the works offered in German language are not yet in the public domain under German law.
Read more29 April 2019
Influencer Marketing: Subliminal Advertising through Tags?
Photo posts on Instagram must be marked as advertising if the tags embedded in the photo link to brand manufacturer pages. What influencers now need to observe.
Read more27 April 2019
"Manufactured with 50% plastic waste from the sea" – misleading advertising
If plastic waste is collected from beaches and used in the manufacture of new products, this is very much to be welcomed. Additionally, this has a nice promotional effect when the new products are advertised with this fact. However, the specific information must by all means correspond to the truth.
Read more26 April 2019
Advertising with "cheese alternative" permissible!
Case law has already established in the past that only products of animal origin may be designated as "cheese". The Regional Court (LG) Stade now had to decide whether the slogan "cheese alternative" also constitutes a violation of competition law.
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