Search results : 1348

In a ruling of 22 April 2009, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that Internet-based video recorders regularly infringe copyright. On its website, the defendant company offers an "Internet-based personal video recorder", which records television programmes, including those of the plaintiff (the broadcaster RTL), on the customer's instructions. The recorded programmes are stored in an area allocated to the individual customer on a server owned by the defendant, to be downloaded by the customer at a time of his choice. The BGH began by considering the recording process itself...

At the beginning of May, a draft Act on the further development of the legal framework for new services was presented, proposing amendments to the Telemediengesetz (Telemedia Act - TMG) and the Vorläufiges Tabakgesetz (Provisional Tobacco Act). The Act is meant to transpose Directive 2007/65/EC (Audiovisual Media Services Directive - AVMSD) with regard to its provisions concerning on-demand audiovisual media services. The main areas in which the AVMSD requires amendments to the TMG are the definitions of service providers and on-demand audiovisual media services (Art. 2(1)(1) and (6) of the draft),...

The State chancellery of Rhineland-Palatinate, which currently chairs the Broadcasting Commission of the Länder , has published a draft 13th Rundfunkänderungsstaatsvertrag (amendment to the Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement - RÄStV). One of the issues covered by the amendment is product placement, which is to be defined in Art. 2(2)(11) of the Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement - RStV). The ban on surreptitious advertising, product and thematic placement and related practices will be incorporated in the newly added Art. 7(7)(1) RStV (instead of Art. 7(6)(1), where it is...

In a ruling of 5 March 2009, the Bayerische Verwaltungsgericht München (Bavarian Administrative Court, Munich - VG, case no. M 17 K 07.5805) decided that DSF Deutsches Sportfernsehen GmbH did not breach the ban on surreptitious advertising in its broadcast of the programme PartyPoker-Football & Poker Legends Cup on 22 November 2006. The programme featured a poker tournament. On the poker table, the words "PartyPoker.com Football & Poker Legends Cup" were printed in large letters. They were visible for a total of 16 of the 44 minutes of transmission time, which the Bayerische Landeszentrale für...

In a ruling of 7 May 2009, the Landgericht München I (Munich District Court I - LG) decided that, under copyright law, a cameraman had the right to certain information from film exploiters. The case concerned revenue generated by the film " Das Boot " (made in 1981) since 2002 (case no. 7 O 17694/08). The plaintiff was a cameraman who had helped to make the film and had been paid for doing so. The film became a global success and was exploited repeatedly over a period of years. The plaintiff did not receive a share of the proceeds of this exploitation. In the proceedings, he asked the producer,...