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In two rulings issued on 10 January 2017 (case nos. VI ZR 561/15 and VI ZR 562/15), the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) held that the comedians on ZDF’s satirical programme “Die Anstalt” could continue to claim that two journalists working for the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” are linked to organisations that deal with issues relating to security policy. It therefore rejected the libel actions brought by the journalists concerned. On 29 April 2014, public service broadcaster ZDF transmitted the satirical programme “Die Anstalt”, in which two comedians discussed two “Die Zeit” journalists’ independence...

On 10 November 2016, the Bundestag (lower house of the German parliament) adopted an amendment to the Filmförderungsgesetz (Film Support Act - FFG). The new version entered into force on 1 January 2017 and is valid for five years. As a result, film subsidies will be concentrated on fewer films, focusing on films with a greater chance of success, from January 2017 onwards. The funding bodies will also become more streamlined, more professional, and more gender-balanced. In general terms, the FFG is the legal basis for the provision of film support by the Filmförderungsanstalt (Film Support Agency...

In two decisions of 17 November 2016, the seventh chamber of the Verwaltungsgericht Hannover (Hanover Administrative Court - VG) rejected two appeals by RTL against decisions issued by the Niedersächsische Landesmedienanstalt (Lower Saxony media authority) following breaches of the Rundfunkstaatsvertrag (Inter-State Broadcasting Agreement - RStV). The advertising-related provisions of the Rundfunkstaatsvertrag set out, in a general way, the obligation to separate editorial content from advertising, lay down limits for broadcast advertising, and provide a basis for the prosecution of those who infringe...

In a ruling of 28 September 2016, the Landgericht München I (Munich District Court - LG) decided that the provider of an online video recorder cannot benefit from the private copy exemption provided in Article 53(1)(1) of the Urhebergesetz (Copyright Act - UrhG) (case no. 37 O 1930/16). The online video recorder “YouTV” enables its users to record all programmes on all TV channels with a single click and to watch them within 24 hours. Users cannot record individual programmes or channels. The service is free to use, although a fee is charged to extend it to a 7-day catch-up service. In order to...

In a decision of 18 November 2016, the Landgericht Hamburg (Hamburg District Court - LG) ruled that posting a link to an image illegally made accessible by a third party could constitute a breach of copyright (case no. 310 0 402/16). In the case at hand, the defendant, who sold self-published learning materials through his website, had posted a link to a photo. The image concerned had been edited in breach of the terms of its Creative Commons licence, since various UFOs had been added without any indication that the image had been edited. Although photos can, in principle, be edited in accordance...