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In a decision of 13 September 2018 (Case no. I ZR 140/15 - YouTube), the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) referred a number of questions to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a preliminary decision concerning the liability of the YouTube Internet video platform operator for copyright breaches linked to content uploaded by third parties. The case follows a claim brought by a music producer after a YouTube user had uploaded several videos containing musical works by the singer Sarah Brightman. The producer claimed that he had produced one of the albums featured in the videos and...

On 7 August 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled in the dispute between Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, a state of Germany, and Dirk Renckhoff, a photographer. The case concerned the publication of a photograph taken by Mr Renckhoff on a freely accessible school website. The photograph had been downloaded from an online travel portal and subsequently used by a pupil as a means of illustration for his/her workshop presentation. Below the photograph, the pupil had made reference to the online travel portal, which did not have any restrictive measures in place to prevent the photograph...

In a decision of 23 July 2018, the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartels Office) approved the joint plan of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE and Discovery Communications to expand the video platform 7TV with the video streaming services “Maxdome” and “Eurosport-Player”. The platform, which was set up by ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE and Discovery Communications with the Cartels Office’s approval in 2017, currently offers users video-on-demand services that are financed through advertising and live streaming of TV programmes broadcast by its parent companies. The Bundeskartellamt does not think the addition of Pro7’s...

On 13 June 2018, the Broadcasting Commission of the German Bundesländer published a first working draft of an amended Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement), which will be known as the new Medienstaatsvertrag (Inter-State Media Agreement). According to Articles 30 and 70 of the Grundgesetz (Basic Law), legislative powers regarding the media in Germany are held by the Bundesländer, which have been coordinating their respective broadcasting laws by means of inter-state agreements since 1987. Through approval laws or resolutions adopted by the Länder, inter-state agreements are...

In a decision of 18 July 2018 (Case no. 1 BvR 1675/16), the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court - BVerfG) declared that the German broadcasting contribution fee, which has been levied on every household to fund public service broadcasting in Germany since 2013, was broadly compatible with the German Constitution. In accordance with Article 2 of the Rundfunkbeitragsstaatsvertrag (Inter-State Agreement on the broadcasting contribution fee), the broadcasting contribution fee must be paid by every adult homeowner in Germany, regardless of how many public broadcasting services they...