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In its judgement of 11 November 2025 (case no. 42 O 14139/24), the Landgericht München I (Munich Regional Court I – LG) ruled that the memorisation of linguistic works in AI language models, both when they were processed in the model and when they were delivered to the user in response to a corresponding prompt, constituted an act of reproduction within the meaning of copyright law. Although reproduction during the creation of training data material fell under the limitation of text and data mining, this did not apply to the process of training the model itself. As a consequence, the...

On 22 October 2025, the Rundfunkkommission (Broadcasting Commission) of the federal states adopted key points for a reform of the Medienstaatsvertrag (state media treaty – MStV), the aim of which is to safeguard the communication-related foundations of a free and democratic society in Germany. The new Digitale Medien-Staatsvertrag (digital media state treaty – DMStV) focuses on strengthening content providers and refinancing of journalistic offerings, guaranteeing free communication spaces, organising effective supervision, enabling economic growth and safeguarding diversity of opinion. The...

A new funding instrument was launched in Germany in October 2025. The “Liebling Kino” programme will award financial incentives to cinemas that give special prominence to German, European and artistically ambitious films as part of a high-quality programme. Although the funding is only meant to pay for cinema operations, a points system should ultimately benefit the entire funding chain, from production to distribution, by creating appropriate incentives. Applications should be possible from November 2025. The new grants will be awarded by the Federal Government Commissioner for...

In its ruling of 15 October 2025, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court – BVerwG) once again had to rule on a case concerning the payment of the broadcasting fee that is used to finance public broadcasters in Germany. It concluded that the levying of the fee is only incompatible with the Grundgesetz (Basic Law) if the overall programme offering of the public broadcasters grossly fails to meet the requirements for diverse and balanced content and opinion over a prolonged period of time. However, since it is the task of the lower courts to examine this, the action was referred...

On 11 September 2025, the Landtag (state parliament) of Rhineland-Palatinate debated the amendment to the Landesmediengesetz (state media law) at first reading. The bill was introduced by the three governing parliamentary groups of the SPD, Alliance 90/The Greens and the FDP as well as the CDU as the opposition group. It aims to comprehensively modernise the state media law, strengthen the diversity of Rhineland-Palatinate’s media landscape and promote editorial independence. Under the bill, press publishers will have greater opportunities to own shares in broadcasting companies, media...