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In a ruling of 19 May 2005, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that old feature film marketing contracts cover marketing of DVDs as well as video cassettes. According to Art. 31.4 of the Urhebergesetz (Copyright Act - UrhG), exploitation rights may not be granted for as yet unknown types of use. In old contracts, film manufacturers often granted video reproduction rights. In Germany, storage of films on DVD has only become common since the 1990s. Reproduction on DVD might therefore have been classified as a new type of use, distinct from video. That would have meant that...

The publication of technically manipulated pictures which appear to be authentic images of a person is not covered by the freedom of speech protected by Art. 5.1 of the German Grundgesetz (Basic Law). This was made clear in a decision of the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) amending a ruling of the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court), the highest German civil court, and referring back to it the case in question. The case began with a complaint lodged by the former Chair of the board of directors of a telecommunications company against a business magazine. In 2000, the...

Various German search engine providers have launched a self-regulation initiative under the umbrella of the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Multimediadienste-Anbieter (voluntary self-monitoring body for multimedia service providers - FSM). The founder members include FSM members Google, Lycos, MSN Deutschland, Yahoo, T-Online and T-Info. In addition to the FSM's general code of conduct, special rules have been developed for search engine providers. The aim of this self-regulatory system is to improve consumer protection and the protection of children and young people using search engines in Germany....

On 25 February 2005, Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle Fernsehen (a voluntary self-monitoring body for TV companies - FSF) adopted the final part of the guidelines it has issued on the application of its monitoring system. This part concerns "unlawful programmes". According to the conditions of acceptance, such guidelines must be notified to the Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (Commission for youth protection in the media - KJM) at least four weeks before their entry into force. This happened on 3 March 2005, which meant that the guidelines could enter into force on 4 April 2005. The guidelines are...

Against the background of work on an international standard-setting instrument on cultural diversity, the German Commission for UNESCO has obtained a legal opinion on the impact of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on German cultural policy. The opinion begins by outlining the structure of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the GATS and goes on to consider the compatibility of various state support measures - such as fees and charges imposed under public law, quotas for film or broadcasting or the system of social security for self-employed artists - with the GATS rules. Also...