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In a decision of 8 April 2010, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court - BVerwG) rejected an urgent application by a network operator against the auction of 2.6 GHz frequencies. The applicant (broadband provider Airdata) used some of the frequencies concerned under a fixed-term licence. Since that licence had now expired, it requested an extension, which would block the auction. The BVerwG rejected the urgent application after weighing up the various interests. As a result of its decision, the auction of frequencies (360 MHz in total) could begin, as planned, on 12 April 2010....

In a ruling of 29 April 2010, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that Google's image search engine does not infringe copyright law. Google's image search engine enables users to search for images posted online by third parties by typing in a search item. In the subsequent search result list, the images are shown in thumbnail form. In the case at hand, the plaintiff, an artist who runs her own website containing images of her works of art, had asked the court to prevent Google from showing such images of her work in thumbnail form. The BGH rejected her request. It recognised...

In a decision of 12 November 2009, which has only recently been published, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) ruled on the scope and conditions of the cable retransmission right enshrined in Art. 87(1)(1), case 1, and Art. 20 of the Urheberrechtsgesetz (Copyright Act - UrhG). In 2003, the plaintiff, Gesellschaft zur Verwertung der Urheber- und Leistungsschutzrechte von Medienunternehmen (copyright and performance rights collecting society for media companies - VG Media), signed a contract with cable network operator ish NRW for compensation for cable network operators' use, via...

On 12 March 2010, the Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (GEMA), the German collecting society for authors and music publishers, decided to adopt a new version of its membership agreement relating to the use of musical works for advertising purposes. When music is used for advertising purposes, rights management is to be exercised separately by the member and GEMA. According to the amended version of section 1(k)(1) of the membership agreement the “right to allow third parties to use a musical work [...] for advertising purposes in an individual case...

The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Kurt Beck is planning to file an application with the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court - BVerfG) to check the constitutionality of the ZDF-Staatsvertrag (ZDF State Treaty). Beck announced his intention to file his application after the Land Prime Ministers’ failure to agree on a reform of the ZDF State Treaty at their Berlin conference on 25 March 2010. The background to this is the refusal in November 2009 by the ZDF Board, which is dominated by the German conservatives (CDU/CSU) to renew the contract of the former ZDF editor-in-chief...