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Following a complaint by the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband e.V. (national consumer advice centre - VZBV), the Oberlandesgericht (regional appeal court - OLG) in Frankfurt am Main decided on 30 June 2005 that the Internet-based " Autokids-Club ", which was aimed at children and run by the car manufacturer Škoda, infringed competition law (case no. 6 U 168/04). On the website http://www.autokids.de/, children could apply for membership of the " Škoda Kinderclub Autokids ", which entitled them, amongst other things, to discounts at leisure parks and invitations to special events, some of which...

In July 2005, the Berlin Kammergericht (Supreme Court) and Landgericht (District Court - LG) ruled in two cases on the media law principle of separation between editorial content and advertising. The Kammergericht granted an application brought under competition law by a local radio broadcaster for an injunction against the supplier of the disputed programme. The dispute concerned an interview with the owner of a local meat company, produced by the defendant and broadcast by the claimant. The court ruled that the interview breached competition law, since it amounted to surreptitious advertising...

According to a decision of the Landgericht Köln (Cologne District Court) of 27 April 2005, the use of a "virtual video recorder" can represent an intrusion on the rights of a broadcaster under Art. 87.1 of the UrhG (Copyright Act). The case followed a complaint filed by a TV company against the operator of an electronic programme guide. The programme guide included a feature whereby the user could watch TV programmes after their original broadcast time. This was made possible by the provision of storage space on the company's servers. The signal received from the broadcaster would be redirected...

On 21 July 2005 a joint government and film industry working party presented proposals for a new film support fund. The fund's declared aims are to make the German film industry more effective and competitive and to make up the shortfall in German film production financing. These aims will be realised through establishment of a venture capital fund. New film-financing arrangements were needed, partly because it is planned to do away with the Media Fund which previously supported certain projects. The new support system will work by granting loans to be repaid under specific conditions. The amount...

In a decision of 10 May 2005, the Dusseldorf Verwaltungsgericht (administrative court) dismissed the action brought by Internet access providers against “blocking orders” imposed by the regional government in Dusseldorf that prevented access to two websites with radical right-wing content, including material that glorified or played down the holocaust. The content providers or service/host providers of both websites are registered in the USA. Insofar as action taken by the German authorities against these providers in the USA was not deemed to stand much chance of success, the case brought by the...