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The Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartels Office - BKartA) has expressed concern to the television provider ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG and the RTL Deutschland media group in a provisional assessment of their plans to create a joint online video platform. Following the example of the US video portal “Hulu”, the two companies have, for some time, been developing a business model for digital audiovisual content on the Internet, in order to take into account the changes in consumer behaviour and the increasing convergence of television and the Internet. The initiators of the portal, which is funded by advertising...

In a ruling of 26 January 2011, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court - BVerwG) confirmed the rejection of a complaint by a telecommunications company against a frequency relocation procedure conducted by the Bundesnetzagentur (Federal Network Agency - BNetzA). In frequency relocation procedures, particular frequencies are directly allocated to one or more providers. This case concerned allocations in the 900 MHz band, which were previously reserved for military use, to the providers O2 and E-Plus. In return, these providers were required to relinquish other frequencies in...

On 23 February 2011, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court - BVerwG) ruled that the obligation to pay film contributions is compatible with the German Constitution and therefore rejected complaints by several cinema operators. According to the Filmförderungsgesetz (Film Support Act - Art. 66 et seq. FFG), cinema operators, video companies and television providers are obliged to pay film contributions to the Filmförderungsanstalt (Film Support Office - FFA). However, under the version of the FFG that was valid until July 2010, while cinema operators and video companies had to...

According to a decision of 13 January 2011 (case no. I ZR 22/09), the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) will, in a request for a preliminary ruling, submit a number of questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) concerning the interpretation of the concept of “health claim” in the sense of Article 2(2)(5) of Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (“Health Claims Regulation”). The decision follows a case concerning advertising for a herbal liqueur containing 27% alcohol with the words "wohltuend und bekömmlich” (beneficial and agreeable)....

In a ruling of 21 December 2010, the Verwaltungsgericht Neustadt (Neustadt administrative court - VG) decided that RLP.TV GbR was not entitled to a broadcasting licence. In May 2009, the Landeszentrale für Medien und Kommunikation (regional media and communications authority - LMK) of Rhineland-Palatinate had invited tenders from analogue cable TV channels wishing to provide regional television channels. In November 2009, it awarded Gutenberg.TV the licence to broadcast a TV channel with a regional and local focus in Vorder- and Westpfalz and in Rheinhessen. It rejected the bid by competitor RLP.TV...