News
975 articles
09 April 2014
Is keyselling a copyright infringement?
As a general rule, purchased goods may be resold at any time on the basis of the exhaustion principle. The Regional Court (LG) Berlin recently had to decide whether this also applies to the resale of software keys, that is, whether the isolated sale of product keys for computer games, the so-called "keyselling", constitutes a copyright infringement.
Read more08 April 2014
They are not stupid – advertising directed at children
Advertising directed at children does not necessarily exploit their lack of commercial experience and impermissibly encourage them to make a purchase. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now dismissed a corresponding injunction action brought by the Federal Association of Consumer Protection Centres by judgment of 03.04.2014 (I ZR 96/13 – Zeugnisaktion).
Read more08 April 2014
Is Facebook's Friend Finder unlawful?
Social media is designed to bring friends together. But may the existing contacts of a new user be read out for this purpose? The Regional Court of Appeal Berlin (Kammergericht) has now established criteria.
Read more07 April 2014
Three Banks See Red
Whether the colour mark RED (figureless) registered with the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (Deutsches Patent- und Markenamt) for savings banks is actually assigned to savings banks by the relevant circles of trade or whether the association depends on other circumstances is currently being examined by the Federal Patent Court (BPatG) at the instigation of two competitors who also have red as their corporate colour. Santander and Oberbank argue that they have also been using the colour red for a very long time […]
Read more02 April 2014
Non-binding (recommended) retail price?
Any person who offers goods or services to end consumers on a commercial or business basis, or who advertises goods or services to end consumers as a provider and indicates prices, must specify the final price, that is, the price to be paid by the consumer including sales tax and all other price components. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) now had to decide whether this statutory provision deriving from the Price Indication Ordinance […]
Read more26 March 2014
Application for interim relief by the heir of Oskar Schlemmer dismissed
The question of whether the violator of a postmortem personality right can be held liable by the heirs even after the expiry of copyright protection concerned the Regional Court (LG) Dessau-Roßlau.
Read more25 March 2014
Is it art or can it go?
For an untrained eye, this question can often be difficult to answer. Works by Joseph Beuys have repeatedly fallen victim to over-zealous cleaning staff. In most cases, the parties came to an agreement. In a comparable case, the Regional Court (LG) Heilbronn now had to decide.
Read more21 March 2014
Permissibility of discount and bonus systems operated by EU mail-order pharmacies
Federal Court of Justice (BGH) establishes "level playing field" with regard to pricing by locally established German pharmacies on the one hand and EU mail-order pharmacies on the other
Read more12 March 2014
German data protection law applies to Facebook
When internet service providers are involved, must they comply with data protection rules from which state in the case of cross-border data flows? International data protection law or the EU data protection directive should be consulted here. The Berlin Chamber Court (Kammergericht) has now decided that applicable law governing Facebook vis-à-vis German users is German data protection law. In doing so, however, the Berlin Chamber Court makes a different decision for international internet corporations such as Facebook, Google and the like than the Higher Administrative Court of Schleswig (OVG Schleswig), which assumes that Irish data protection law applies to Facebook.
Read more12 March 2014
Rights of use in audiobook downloads
E-books have meanwhile become a popular alternative to classical books for many. Increasingly, online retailers provide e-books for download against payment. Once the customer is in possession of the e-book, the question arises whether they are permitted to pass the file on to third parties. This was the subject of proceedings before the Regional Court (LG) Bielefeld.
Read more20 February 2014
Unlawful advertising directed at children in online games
Advertising in online games directed at children is unlawful under competition law. However, when should advertising be classified as a direct purchase request directed at children?
Read more18 February 2014
Google Analytics inadmissible at more than half of companies
Employees of the State Data Protection Officer in Baden-Württemberg (Jörg Klingbeil) have, according to his press release of 14.02.2014, examined the websites of 12,205 companies for the lawful use of the reach analysis tool Google Analytics under data protection law. The result: 2,533 of the examined website operators use Google Analytics, whereby 65% of them do not comply with data protection law requirements.
Read more02 February 2014
Square, practical, defective?
Ritter Sport's chocolate is obviously not defective. In a recent judgment, the Regional Court (LG) Munich I has prohibited statements by the Stiftung Warentest relating to Ritter Sport's full nut chocolate.
Read more31 January 2014
The German film industry can look forward
Cinema operators must continue to pay the special levy for the promotion of the German film industry. Their constitutional complaint against the Film Promotion Act was unsuccessful and was dismissed by the Federal Constitutional Court (BVerfG).
Read more31 January 2014
Streaming is not a copyright infringement
After the law firm U+C initiated a mass warning letter campaign regarding the "streaming" of films on the internet platform www.redtube.com, in which the attorneys issued many thousands of warning letters, the Regional Court (LG) Cologne has now decided in several complaint proceedings that viewing content on the internet does not constitute a copyright infringement.
Read more23 January 2014
Waldorf-Frommer withdraws file-sharing lawsuit
In Munich, the approach to liability of connection owners is gradually being reconsidered, as we have been able to observe in several proceedings. In the current case, the Local Court (AG) Munich has confirmed that the sued connection owner has satisfied his secondary burden of pleading sufficiently, and has left it to Tele München GmbH + Co Produktionsgesellschaft to withdraw the claim.
Read more23 January 2014
A Heart for Typo Domains
Everyone knows them, no one likes them: typo domains, where those who make a mistake entering the desired address end up. Such is the case when one wants to go to wetteronline.de but forgets the "e" at the end (wetteronlin.de). One then landed on a page which in turn redirected one to an insurance offer. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has now ruled by judgment of 22.01.2014 […]
Read more22 January 2014
Google's data protection provisions unlawful!
The Regional Court (LG) Berlin has decided that Google's data protection clauses may not be used further due to violation of German data protection law.
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