Search results : 1348

On 29 September 2010, the Hanseatische Oberlandesgericht (Hanseatic regional court of appeal - OLG) decided that the Sevenload video portal did not adopt user-generated content as its own and was not, therefore, liable for copyright infringements committed by users, either as a perpetrator, participant or aider and abettor. The video portal concerned (“the defendant”) offers, on its Internet site, both professionally edited content (e.g., films, shows and music), for which it acquires the necessary licences, and content uploaded by registered users - particularly music videos. The content is found...

In a decision of 27 October 2010, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court - BVerwG) ruled that broadcasting licence fees should be paid for Internet-capable PCs. The case concerned the obligation of the plaintiffs, two lawyers and a student, to pay the fees as owners of Internet-capable PCs. The three defendants, the broadcasters BR, SWR and WDR, claimed that the plaintiffs should pay the fees because their PCs could be used to watch programmes via a so-called live stream on the Internet. The plaintiffs, who had been asked to pay the fees for their Internet-capable PCs, which...

On 8 October 2010, the Landgericht Hamburg (Hamburg regional court - LG), in a legal dispute over the distribution of two music tracks via an Internet file-sharing network, ordered the defendant to pay two music publishers EUR 15 per track in compensation. The court decided that the defendant had culpably and illegally infringed the music publishers’ copyright (reproduction right and right to make available to the public) by copying the music tracks without permission and uploading them to a file-sharing network. The court’s assessment of the level of compensation due is particularly significant....

In a ruling of 28 October 2010, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that film footage of amateur football matches was not protected under competition law and therefore overturned the lower instance decisions of the Landgericht Stuttgart (Stuttgart regional court - see IRIS 2008-7/12) and Oberlandesgericht Stuttgart (Stuttgart regional court of appeal - see IRIS 2009-5/18). In the proceedings, the Fußballverband Württemberg (Württemberg Football Association - WFV) had asked the operator of the Internet portal, “www.hartplatzhelden.de”, to refrain from publishing film footage...

In a recently published decision, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) ruled that links to third-party content can breach copyright in some cases. The plaintiff in the procedure concerned operates a website from which street maps can be downloaded. After filling in a search form on the home page, the user is taken to the requested map on a different page. The plaintiff charges a fee for commercial or long-term use of the service. When they visit the home page, private users are given a session ID that is valid for a limited period of time, enabling them to use the service free of...