News
975 articles
22 January 2014
Publication of children's photographs from a sporting event
The eleven-year-old daughter of Caroline Princess of Hannover had been photographed at a sporting event and sued the publisher of the magazine FREIZEIT REVUE to cease publication of the photographs together with accompanying text. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) rejected the plaintiff's claim for injunctive relief, inter alia on the grounds that photographs and video recordings had become largely standard practice at sporting competitions.
Read more21 January 2014
German data protection law at Facebook?
The Independent State Centre for Data Protection in Schleswig-Holstein (ULD) had ordered Facebook Inc./USA and Facebook Ireland Ltd. to comply with the requirements of German data protection law. The Higher Regional Court of Schleswig-Holstein (OVG Schleswig) then had to decide whether German data protection law applies to Facebook's services with regard to German users.
Read more13 January 2014
Apple also most valuable brand in the world in 2013
The communications agency MillwardBrown has released a list of the 100 most valuable brands in 2013, the so-called "BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands" – and once again Apple is at the top.
Read more09 January 2014
Liability for illegal file-sharing by adult family members
Is the holder of an internet connection liable for the conduct of an adult family member if he has no indication that this person is misusing the internet connection for illegal file-sharing? The Federal Court of Justice says: No!
Read more22 November 2013
Advertising in print media must be marked with "Advertisement"
In print media, readers repeatedly encounter articles which initially appear editorial in nature, but which upon closer examination are advertising that has not been marked as such. Under German law, this is unfair and thus anticompetitive. The subject matter of the referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) was the question of whether the publishing house could choose how to designate the advertising [...]
Read more19 November 2013
Regional Court (LG) Hamburg: Trade in Used Software Licences
The Regional Court (LG) Hamburg had to decide whether a software manufacturer can prohibit the trade in used software licences in its General Terms and Conditions. Furthermore, the Regional Court (LG) Hamburg had to decide whether Terms and Conditions provisions regarding procurement from third parties are valid.
Read more14 November 2013
Copyright protection now also for simple works of applied art!
With the landmark decision "Birthday Train" the BGH has abolished the differences in the assessment of copyright protection for applied and non-applied art. From now on, works of applied art, such as for example the design of everyday products as well as all graphic works of advertising agencies, are to be qualified as copyright-protected works even at a low level of creative effort according to the so-called "small change" standard […]
Read more07 November 2013
E-mail from referral function is anti-competitive spam!
An increasing number of online shops and internet portals provide a "Recommend to a Friend button" on their website, which allows users to recommend a particular website or product to their contacts. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had to decide whether the recommendation email generated from the referral function and sent to a third party who has not consented to receiving email advertising – like a [...]
Read more29 October 2013
AdWords advertising may constitute trademark infringement (Beate Uhse)
Some time ago, the Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) established in several decisions the principle that the use of third-party trademarks as keywords (AdWords) for the context-based display of advertisements is not use as a trademark and therefore does not constitute trademark infringement. However, this does not apply without qualification, as the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) clarified in its judgment of 20.02.2013 (I ZR 172/11 – BEATE UHSE).
Read more28 October 2013
No right to immediate deletion of IP addresses
Customers of Deutsche Telekom AG cannot demand that IP addresses assigned when accessing the internet are deleted immediately after the connection is terminated. As a rule, Telekom AG must carry out the deletion only after seven days.
Read more25 October 2013
Designation of "chicken coop" for hotel not abusive criticism
Here is something amusing to read from Stuttgart again. The 4th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) in its judgment of 11.09.2013 (4 U 88/13) came to the conclusion that the designation "chicken coop" for a hotel operation can be justified and in the case decided was also in order.
Read more22 October 2013
"From" specification on Amazon constitutes trademark use
In the opinion of the Regional Court (LG) Stuttgart, the "from" specification displayed within each product description on Amazon below the product title constitutes a trademark designation, so that the use of a product description presupposes that the offered product also originates from the trademark proprietor.
Read more22 October 2013
Presumption rule in file-sharing cases does not apply to de facto connection holder
It is common knowledge that the holder of an internet connection is subject to a presumption: in the event of an infringement committed via their connection, it is presumed that they committed it. However, according to the opinion of the Local Court (AG) Munich, this does not apply to the "de facto" connection holder.
Read more02 October 2013
Trade Mark Infringement by Hard Rock?
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had to decide a legal dispute between the internationally active Hard Rock group and a restaurant operator in Heidelberg. The worldwide operators of the Hard Rock Cafes issued a cease-and-desist letter to the Heidelberg restaurant owner due to the infringement of several trade marks and demanded cessation of use of the trade mark name for the operation of a restaurant and for use on merchandise articles.
Read more19 September 2013
Threat of SCHUFA entry violates personality rights
Time and again, debt collection agencies instructed by legal warning firms threaten in file-sharing matters with notification of an entry at SCHUFA Holding AG in order to pressure the warned parties to pay the demanded costs. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Düsseldorf has now put a stop to this business practice.
Read more13 September 2013
Final and binding: Princess Caroline's holiday photographs permitted
Princess Caroline of Monaco has now definitively failed to prohibit the use of certain private holiday photographs. She last brought proceedings before the European Court of Human Rights against the Federal Republic of Germany, claiming that she had not been granted adequate legal protection in her view. The photograph in dispute until the very end, which showed Caroline next to her husband Ernst August of Hanover […]
Read more26 July 2013
Is it permissible to copy the design of a designer handbag?
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt a.M. had to decide whether the design of a ladies' handbag that had been marketed very successfully for many years by a well-known fashion label could be copied and sold by another fashion company, as long as it was sold under their own brand.
Read more19 July 2013
Copyright protection for Pippi Longstocking as a literary character?
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had to decide whether a retail chain violated the copyright exploitation rights of the Astrid Lindgren heirs through advertising carnival costumes depicting the literary character Pippi Longstocking.
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