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The culture and media working groups of the German Parliament’s CDU/CSU and SPD coalition partners have published the key points of their joint proposal to amend the German Filmförderungsgesetz (Film Support Act – FFG). The reforms are primarily designed to protect the long-term future of the German film industry and strengthen German filmmaking as an economic and cultural asset. The cinema sector is at the heart of the envisaged changes. The reforms will be based on changes to eligibility criteria, the distribution of support, funding mechanisms and the structure of the Filmförderanstalt...

In a decision of 20 February 2020, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court – BGH) determined how much revenue from television broadcasts should be paid to the chief cameraman of the film ‘Das Boot’ (Case no. I ZR 176/18). The plaintiff in the case at hand had worked as chief cameraman on the film ‘Das Boot’ in the early 1980s, for which he had been paid a fee equivalent to EUR 104 303.54 by the production company. The film was exploited internationally in cinemas and on television, as well as on video and DVD. The plaintiff claimed additional remuneration of...

In a judgment of 27 February 2020 (Case C-240/18), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided that the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) should issue a new decision on the application for registration of the word sign ‘Fack Ju Göthe’ as an EU trademark, which it had originally rejected. The Court ruled that the classification of the word sign as contrary to accepted principles of morality and therefore unsuitable for registration had been erroneous because insufficient account had been taken of the fact that this comedy film title would not be perceived...

On 15 January 2020, the Bundesministerium der Justiz und für Verbraucherschutz (Federal Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection) tabled a bill implementing Directive (EU) 2019/790 on copyright and related rights in the Digital Single Market, which was adopted on 17 April last year. The bill begins by addressing the protection of press publications with regard to online uses and the contribution of publishers, which form part of the EU copyright reforms. It explains the rights of publishers of press publications, as described in Article 15 of the Directive; contains rules on text and data...

In a decision of 20 January 2020, the Verwaltungsgericht Köln (Cologne Administrative Court) submitted a number of questions to the European Court of Justice concerning the interpretation of Regulation (EU) 2015/2120 and its provisions on net neutrality. The case concerns the ‘StreamOn’ service offered by the German mobile operator Telekom Deutschland GmbH in which the data transmission rates of some video streams are throttled. ‘StreamOn’ is a so-called zero-rating service that can be added to some of the mobile operator’s tariffs free of charge. The data...