News
975 articles
20 August 2014
No impressum obligation for foris.de
Where a law firm's online presence lacks independence and contains only neutral standard information about professional activities within an online directory, there is no impressum obligation. This was the decision of the Regional Court (LG) Stuttgart in a recent legal dispute between two lawyers.
Read more19 August 2014
Two-part vs. single-part mark
In practice, the question arises very frequently whether two marks are liable to confusion if one mark (here GLAMOUR) is merely part of another, two-part mark (here TUDOR GLAMOUR). The General Court (EuG) had to decide on this following a corresponding action brought by the applicant of the younger mark GLAMOUR, after the trademark office had upheld the opposition based on the earlier mark […]
Read more18 August 2014
Asterix vs. Alcolix
René Goscinny, one of the most well-known comic authors of the 20th century, whose arguably most popular figure was the Gaul Asterix, would have turned 88 years old in August. He created the well-known Gallic comic series together with illustrator Albert Uderzo. However, this series also found imitators, such as the parody characters Alcolix and Obenix.
Read more15 August 2014
Adler logo of Real infringes DFB trade mark
The German retail chain Real is not permitted to use signs that exhibit similarity with the association logo of the Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V. With the current judgment, the Regional Court (LG) Munich I has confirmed an interim injunction and prohibited Real from using certain signs.
Read more14 August 2014
Amazon commissions to school support association prohibited
School support associations are founded for the pursuit of good intentions, namely the pursuit of school interests and promotion of the concerns of students and parents. Whether this is compatible with the position of the support association as a paid affiliate for Amazon was to be decided by the Regional Court (LG) Berlin.
Read more13 August 2014
Immendorff copy need not be destroyed
According to a current decision by the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Düsseldorf, the alleged Immendorff painting "Ready-Made de l´Histoire dans Café de Flore" need not be destroyed. According to the court's view, the dissemination of the work is also lawful.
Read more12 August 2014
Are there threats to crowdfunding and crowdsourcing?
The Federal Government announced a new bill on the Small Investors Protection Act on 28.07.2014. This provides in particular for requirements concerning prospectus obligations and investor information and accounting. Although the bill contains exceptions from its scope of application, which according to the reasoning of the draft are intended to privilege crowdfunding and crowdsourcing financings, amongst other things, criticism came immediately after publication from crowdfunding […]
Read more10 August 2014
Satirical protection for the most beautiful hiking trails of the wandering prostitute
May the author of a book which, amongst other things, critically engages with the commercial exploitation of bestsellers and in this context takes up the example of the well-known bestsellers of the "wandering prostitutes series", make use of the well-known title component "wandering prostitute" in an ironic manner in his book title?
Read more09 August 2014
Forfeiture of the right to information under data protection law?
Everyone has the right to find out what data a company has stored about their person from which sources and has passed on to third parties. But what is the situation with this right to information under data protection law if the data subject themselves publicly provides their email address on the internet? The Local Court (AG) Leipzig had to decide on this matter.
Read more07 August 2014
Are IP addresses permitted to be stored on a precautionary basis?
For how long may the IP address be stored "on a precautionary basis" or must it be deleted immediately? In the dispute between a customer and Deutsche Telekom AG that commenced in 2007, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has taken a further position, now also on the points of indicated pseudonymisation and the unlawfulness of precautionary data storage.
Read more05 August 2014
Pharmacy collection model for prescription medicines
In the view of the Higher Regional Court of Munich (OLG München), the ordering of prescription medicines which were ordered in a German pharmacy and delivered via a Dutch pharmacy is unlawful and must therefore be discontinued.
Read more03 August 2014
Misleading advertising for internet flat rate
Every internet provider advertises flat rate tariffs. But what is a consumer entitled to understand by an internet flat rate? The Regional Court (LG) Munich I has expressed its view on this matter and decided that advertising for an internet flat rate is misleading if the transmission speed is throttled after consumption of a certain data volume and insufficient clear notice is not given to this effect.
Read more02 August 2014
Value compensation in the case of withdrawal from Parship membership
In the event of withdrawal from a paid membership in the online dating platform parship, the user must indeed pay value compensation. According to a recent decision of the Regional Court (LG) Hamburg, the amount of value compensation for the services used is calculated according to their objective value and subject matter.
Read more01 August 2014
Football, Beer and Product Placement in the Men's Camp?
Was Sat.1 permitted, in the context of product placement in the pre- and post-broadcast segments of the UEFA Europa League Final 2011 transmission, to carry out so-called 'live switches' to an advertising event of a brewery, where a well-known football expert is interviewed while being seen alongside four men selected through a competition who are wearing sweatshirts of the brewery, and in which, among other things, full [...]
Read more31 July 2014
Damages for Internet connection failure
If the Internet fails, is the user entitled to damages? And if so, in what amount? The Local Court (AG) Düsseldorf has ruled on this matter.
Read more30 July 2014
Right of withdrawal when buying a sofa online?
The Regional Court (LG) Düsseldorf had to decide whether a consumer is entitled to a distance selling right of withdrawal when purchasing a sofa online if, when ordering the piece of furniture, he was able to select the colour and fabric from a multitude of variants and the couch was only manufactured thereafter.
Read more28 July 2014
Pitfalls in the Revocation of Filming Rights
In the case of the transfer of exclusive filming rights, the screenwriter or author of the literary template generally has an interest in ensuring that the entitled film producer actually makes use of this right. If this does not occur, the author can exercise his or her right of revocation due to non-exercise. However, the effective assertion of this right can present considerable difficulties.
Read more26 July 2014
Film adaptations of historical novels – The Popess
Examples of film adaptations of historical novels have become increasingly common in recent years. As an adaptation of a literary work, such adaptation fundamentally requires the consent of the author or the corresponding rights holder. However, the particular feature of historical subject matter lies in the fact that the underlying actual events are generally in the public domain. This therefore raises the question in such cases whether a film adaptation infringes on copyright at all […]
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