Search results : 1348

In the context of a final appeal of points of law, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice - BGH) recently dealt with the scope of, and limits to, the so-called “media privilege (Medienprivileg), which defines the relationship between data protection and freedom of speech. In its judgment of 1 February 2011, the BGH gave media and press freedom priority over the interests claimed by the plaintiff. The case had been brought by one of the two murderers of the actor Walter Sedlmayr who had been sentenced to life imprisonment (see also IRIS 2010-2/9). He had been released on parole in January...

With the votes of the ruling coalition, the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament) adopted the Gesetz zur Regelung von De-Mail-Diensten und zur Änderung weiterer Vorschriften (Act on the regulation of “De-Mail” services and amending other provisions) on 24 February 2011. The creation of the “De-Mail” e-mail service is designed to enable German citizens to send messages via the Internet in a secure, reliable and verifiable way with a single user account. Use of “De-Mail” is optional for citizens. Service providers can charge fees for carrying “De-Mails”, although the cost must be significantly...

On 11 February 2011, the creation of the first “German-Turkish Co-Production Development Fund” was announced in Berlin. The parties to the film aid agreement are the two German regional film aid institutions Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg (MBB) and Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein (FFHSH), the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the co-production market of the Istanbul International Film Festival (IIFF), “Meetings on the Bridge” (MoB). Under the agreement, joint film productions will be able to access financial support from the early stages of the film-making process. To this end,...

On 11 February 2011, representatives of Germany, Austria and Switzerland signed an agreement to step up economic and cultural cooperation in the film industry. The trilateral film agreement creates a legal framework for cooperation between producers from the three signatory States. It promotes the bi- or trilateral co-production of cinematographic works (Art. 1). Such co-productions will be categorised as national films and therefore be eligible to receive national funding (Art. 2(1) and (2)). A further condition is that the financial, artistic or technical contribution of each producer must represent...

In a judgment of 10 February 2011, the Oberlandesgericht München (Munich Appeals Court - OLG) rejected a claim under copyright law for additional remuneration and naming of the author. The plaintiff wrote the opening credits of the television series “Tatort”. The defendants are two public service broadcasters affiliated to the ARD. The “Tatort” series is very popular and has been broadcast for over 40 years. The same opening credits have been used ever since it was first broadcast. In the proceedings, the plaintiff argued that this unusually long-term use of the work she had created was highly...