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In the run-up to the German parliamentary elections in October 2005 several rulings were issued in the German courts on the requirement for television broadcasters to transmit party political broadcasts. The subject was the party political broadcast of a small party that had anarchy as part of its political programme. The public service broadcasters ARD and ZDF had refused to broadcast it on the grounds of protecting young people. The verbal content of the broadcast comprised the party's candidate for Chancellor shouting out his “address”. The final fade-in ran: “Your vote for the garbage“. Otherwise...

In November 2005, the Landesrundfunkanstalten (Regional Broadcasting Authorities) of the ARD lodged a complaint with the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court - BVerfG) against the fixing of the broadcasting licence fee in the 8. Rundfunkänderungsstaatsvertrag (8th Amendment to the Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement - RÄndStV). They claim that the latest procedure for fixing the licence fee breaches their freedom to broadcast as described in Art. 5.2.1 of the Basic Law. A EUR 0.88 fee increase was laid down by the regional parliaments and included in the 8. RÄndStV, EUR 0.21 less...

In an appeal procedure (case no. KRZ 37/03), the Kartellsenat (Cartels Chamber) of the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided on 8 November 2005 that football clubs could charge a special fee to radio broadcasters reporting inside their stadiums. The judges of the BGH therefore upheld the earlier decisions of the Landgericht Hamburg (Hamburg District Court) of 26 April 2002 and Oberlandesgericht Hamburg (Hamburg Court of Appeal) of 12 June 2003. The radio broadcaster had lodged a complaint against the Hamburg-based football clubs HSV and FC St. Pauli and the DFL Deutsche Fußball...

The Constitutional Court (BVerfG) refused to issue a ruling concerning a constitutional complaint on the ban on producing private back-up copies of legally acquired but copy-protected DVDs and CDs (AZ: 1BVR 2182/04). The complainant asserted that as a result of the ban on circumventing copy-protected systems in articles §§ 95a and 95b of the UrhG his personal right of ownership was violated. So as to protect data, he regularly made a digital copy of newly acquired CDs and DVDs. More recently he was banned from making a back-up copy, when the original product came with a copy-protection system....

On 12 May 2005 the Frankfurt Oberlandesgericht (Court of Appeal - OLG) ruled on a publicity measure specifically aimed at children. The Court had to decide on an urgent case brought by the Zentrale zur Bekämpfung unlauteren Wettbewerbs (centre for the prevention of unfair competition) concerning a special offer proposed by a sweet manufacturer, involving “milk tokens” printed on the sweet packets, some of which could be exchanged for bonuses. The applicant claimed the special offer exploited children's lack of experience of commercial matters, and that therefore the publicity stunt constituted...