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On 30 October 2009, the Minister-Presidents of the Länder signed the 13. Rundfunkänderungsstaatsvertrag (13th amendment to the Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement - RÄStV ). The primary reason for adopting the 13th RÄStV is to transpose the Audiovisual Media Services Directive 2007/65/EC into German law. In particular, product placement is allowed in certain cases for the first time (see IRIS 2009-6:9). Public service broadcasters are permitted to use product placement "during cinema films, television films and series, sports broadcasts and light entertainment programmes, which were not commissioned...

In the legal dispute between RTL Television GmbH and Sat.1 Satellitenfernsehen GmbH, the Oberlandesgericht Köln (Cologne Appeal Court - OLG) issued a ruling on 30 October 2009, rejecting RTL's complaint and overturning the decision of the court of lower instance. The underlying case concerns film material from the episode of an RTL talent show broadcast on 23 January 2008. The episode included an appearance by a candidate who broke down after one of the judges gave a devastating appraisal of his performance. On the following two days, the broadcaster Sat.1 reported on this incident, using several...

On 28 October 2009, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court - BVerwG) decided that financial aid for the construction of new cinemas should not be granted if there is a danger of existing cinemas being forced to close as a result. In the underlying case, the plaintiff, a cinema firm, had applied to the Filmförderungsanstalt (Film Support Office - FFA) for financial assistance with the construction of two new multiplex cinemas in different locations in accordance with Art. 56 para. 1 no. 1 of the Filmförderungsgesetz (Film Support Act - FFG). Support may be granted on condition...

In a ruling on 12 November 2009, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH ) decided that the operator of an Internet site is liable for the illegal uploading of photographs by users of the site. The plaintiff operates an Internet site from which recipes, some including photographs, can be downloaded free of charge. Private users uploaded several of these photos together with recipes onto the website of the defendant, who also operates a free recipe collection on the Internet. The plaintiff did not give consent for the photos to be used in this way. The BGH ruled that the defendant had...

In a decision of 10 November 2009 (case no. VI ZR 217/08), the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH ) suspended a pending procedure in order to ask the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary ruling under Art. 234 of the EC Treaty. The question that needs clarification concerns the international responsibility of courts to rule on injunction suits against Internet publications by companies that are based in another EU Member State. The ECJ has also been asked to determine whether the claim under the country of origin principle enshrined in Directive 2000/31/EC should be assessed...