News
975 articles
02 November 2010
Pictorial reporting permissible even if verbal reporting is unlawful?
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had to decide whether pictorial reporting can be permissible even if a prior court judgment that has become final in another proceeding between the same parties has established that the verbal reporting violated the right to general personality.
Read more01 November 2010
Is retrievability of the revocation notice sufficient for access?
The information to be provided to a consumer in the case of distance selling contracts must not only be provided by the entrepreneur in a manner suitable for permanent reproduction, but must also reach the consumer in a manner suitable for permanent reproduction. The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) had to decide whether these requirements were met in that both the sales offer and the revocation notice at […]
Read more21 October 2010
Filesharing cease-and-desist letters only for new songs?
In filesharing cases, the connection holder is regularly sent a cease-and-desist letter. The identification of the connection holder regularly takes place via a judicial order, by means of which the rights holder obtains information from the respective internet service provider regarding the assignment of an IP address to a connection holder. The connection holder in question is usually unaware of the judicial order and the information provided. The Higher Regional Court […]
Read more15 October 2010
Trade mark law through GPL software licence?
In the Internet, very many software products are offered for free download. Many Internet users use the free products and develop their own software, which is based on these Open Source programmes. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Düsseldorf had to clarify the question of whether the distribution of the programme within the scope of a General Public License (GPL), a set of rules that permits users to […]
Read more12 October 2010
"SPEICHERSTADT" as a registrable trade mark?
The Federal Patent Court had to decide whether the Hamburg district "SPEICHERSTADT" could be registered as a trade mark for a multitude of goods and services of various classes or whether "SPEICHERSTADT" lacked the requisite distinctive character.
Read more07 October 2010
Bonatz heir unsuccessful in final appeal
The 4th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Stuttgart, which is competent inter alia for copyright disputes, has rejected the action brought by the heir of Paul Bonatz against Deutsche Bahn AG and another railway company in the final appeal.
Read more01 October 2010
Multiple licensing fees in file-sharing?
The Higher Regional Court of Cologne (OLG Köln) had to decide whether, when offering software on the internet via a file-sharing network, a multiple of the standard licensing fee could be demanded by the sender of the cease-and-desist letter due to the multiple public making available.
Read more23 September 2010
Is recommendation advertising spam unfair competition?
In the appellate proceedings, the Regional Court (LG) Berlin had to decide whether an invitation e-mail for an online shopping portal sent by friends, lacking the consent of the email recipient, constitutes unfair competitive spam messages that must be attributed to the portal operator within the scope of secondary liability, or whether recommendation advertising by friends requires no prior permission.
Read more21 September 2010
Is advertising with areas of application to specialist audiences permitted?
The advertising, packaging and distribution of medicinal products are subject to extensive legal regulation. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm had to decide whether § 5 Heilmittelwerbegesetz (HWG) also prohibits advertising with areas of application to specialist audiences, or whether this regulation should apply only to advertising measures to consumers.
Read more21 September 2010
3D trade mark protection for Lego bricks?
The Court of Justice of the European Union (EuGH) had to decide the interesting question of whether the inventor of a technical solution such as that of the Lego brick could extend the patent protection duration beyond the stipulated 20 years by registering his invention as a 3D trade mark.
Read more17 September 2010
Contractual penalty for unintentional breaches – abuse of rights?
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm had to decide whether the recipient of a cease-and-desist letter could demand from the recipient that, within the framework of a binding and penalty-backed declaration of cessation, in addition to the customarily required intentional breaches, the recipient of the cease-and-desist letter could also demand that the recipient of the cease-and-desist demand be liable for non-culpable violations.
Read more17 September 2010
Cheating the same as pulling someone's leg?
In the present case, the telecommunications companies Telekom and Arcor disputed the competition law permissibility of an advertising statement. The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Frankfurt am Main had to decide whether 'cheating' customers was to be equated with 'pulling the wool over' customers' eyes.
Read more08 September 2010
Refrigerator with energy efficiency class A+ 'very economical'?
A manufacturer of refrigeration and freezing appliances was issued a cease-and-desist letter by a competition association for violation of competition law, as it advertised one of its refrigerator-freezer combinations, which belongs to energy efficiency class A+, as 'very economical in energy consumption'. The association demanded a cease-and-desist order with penalty for misleading the relevant market participants.
Read more01 September 2010
Risk of confusion regarding "eiPott" for egg cups?
The Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamburg had to decide on second instance whether the original designation "eiPott" for egg cups, i.e. the use of the compound term egg (Ei) and pot (Pott) (North German term for pot), constitutes trademark use of the registered Apple trademark "iPod".
Read more24 August 2010
"The best power course of all time" is not an exclusive positioning claim!
The Regional Court of Appeal (Kammergericht) had to clarify the disputed question of whether the advertising statement of a language school "The best power course of all time" constitutes a misleading and thus unfair competitive exclusive positioning claim, or whether this advertising slogan is a recognizable puffery to the average consumer.
Read more20 August 2010
Is delivery "free to destination" anti-competitive?
Delivery "free to destination" and advertising it on an online shop is generally unobjectionable. However, the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamm had to decide whether such advertising constitutes unfair competition if a surcharge is demanded for orders of small quantities, and this small quantity surcharge is only drawn to the customer's attention in the General Terms and Conditions.
Read more17 August 2010
Application for Preliminary Injunction Against S21 Demolition Works Dismissed!
The demolition of the heritage-protected Bonatz building as part of the major project 'Stuttgart 21' has begun at the north wing of Stuttgart Central Station. The application for preliminary injunction by Bonatz heir Dübbers has been dismissed with costs.
Read more13 August 2010
Title protection for newspaper section "Stimmt's"?
In the opinion of the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Hamburg, the designation "Stimmt's?" for a section of a weekly newspaper, under which knowledge-related reader questions are answered, is entitled to trademark-related title protection against the designation "Stimmt's?" for the knowledge section of a rather entertainment-oriented internet portal. In particular, the issues in dispute in this matter were the capacity of a section name to possess title protection and the question of whether the word […]
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