Germany

[DE] On-demand Service not Comparable to a Radio Station

IRIS 2007-7:1/13

Nicola Lamprecht-Weißenborn

Cologne Media Law Research Centre

Recent reports reveal that, on 21 February 2007, the Landgericht Hamburg (Hamburg District Court) confirmed an interim injunction issued in December last year prohibiting the company Impressions Future Media from using certain music recordings for its on-demand service known as StayTuned.de.

At the StayTuned.de platform, music titles can be selected and played for a fee. The service also comprises a choice of radio programmes and offers the possibility of “borrowing” downloads. The Deutsche Phonoverbände (German Phonographic Associations, which include the German section of the IFPI), representing the interests of the German music industry, had sued the operators of StayTuned.de on the grounds that the company did not have the relevant licences.

According to the phonographic associations, the court states in the reasoning of its judgment that “the on-demand use is a separate use and thus requires specific contractual arrangements for the grant of exploitation rights”.

In the proceedings, the company was evidently unable to prove the existence of such contractual arrangements.