This week, copyright is all over the place. After the European Parliament voted on proposed copyright reform in Europe last Wednesday (12 September 2018), the long-awaited decision of the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on the question to what extent video platforms such as YouTube carry out their own acts of use, i.e. a
At the end of July, the German Federal Court handed down its judgment in a copyright case having huge impact for operators of open Wifi services. For the first time, the judges had to deal with Sec. 7 (4) and Sec. 8 (1) s. 2 of the German Telemedia Act (hereinafter “GTA“) as lately amended.
More and more companies advertise their products through so called influencer marketing, using the accounts of social media stars to reach their followers. The Higher Regional Court of Celle decided recently that a company using an influencer to post advertising on Instagram may be liable for failing to clearly indicate the underlying commercial purpose even
On 21 September 2017, the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof – BGH) handed down a judgment of utmost importance for the exploitation of copyright on the Internet. It will become known and referred to under the name “Vorschaubilder III” (“Thumbnail III“). And, it is already to be anticipated that it will leave both experts and
The X. Civil Senate of the German Federal Court of Justice has granted a motion by three companies of the Merck Sharp & Dohme group (Merck) for a preliminary permission for the continued distribution of Isentress®, a drug used for treatment of patients infected with HIV or suffering from AIDS (see press release in German). In August
Julius Sämann Ltd. wins with Hogan Lovells before German Supreme Court (Case Ref.: I ZR 75/15) Almost everyone knows the “WUNDER-BAUM” Tree hanging from the rear view mirror of so many cars. Behind this little air freshener stands a sophisticated trademark strategy the rights holders have followed for many decades. Ever since the 1950s, when
Client seminar with guest speaker of the German Centre for Protection Against Unfair Competition (Wettbewerbszentrale – Zentrale zur Bekämpfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs e.V.) On 17 November 2015 a client seminar on recent developments in Unfair Competition Law will take place in the Hamburg office of Hogan Lovells. A director of the German Centre for Protection Against
The concept of banking secrecy does not work absolutely. The right to refuse information on a (known) account holder has to be balanced against rights a trademark owner has to adequately protect his intellectual property by investigating the payment flow connected to an illegal purchase of a counterfeited product. This is the bottom line of
In a most recent decision, the German Federal Court of Justice negates the infringement of the right of cable retransmission in cases of joint antenna systems for one building. There is no “communication to the public” as the targeted group within the building is definable by their characteristic of all being inhabitants (Case Ref.: I
Schnabl wins with Hogan Lovells landmark case before German Federal Court of Justice The question of whether and how to secure supplementary protection for products that once enjoyed patent protection is of paramount economic interest. Apparently, German courts have adopted quite diverse positions on this subject. However, most recently the German Federal Court of Justice
An unlimited and unconditional bank secret is at odds with Article 8 (3) (e) of the Directive 2004/48 enforcing the dedicated right of information. This is the core result of last week’s decision of the European Court of Justice (CJEU) in a matter brought before the CJEU by the German Federal Court of Justice. In
Background facts Last week the German Federal Court of Justice affirmed a decision of the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg ordering the owner of a trademark, which was to some extent parodying a well-known trademark, to agree to the deletion of his trademark. The attacked trademark registration was found to be detrimental to the reputation