Search results : 1359

In eight different procedures, the Bundesverwaltungsgericht (Federal Administrative Court) decided on 25 January 2017 that the application of the broadcasting licence fee to second homes is compatible with the principle of equal treatment (case nos. 6 C 7.16, 6 C 11.16, 6 C 12.16, 6 C 14.16, 6 C 15.16, 6 C 18.16, 6 C 23.16 and 6 C 31.16). The plaintiffs had argued that the full licence fee should not apply. Under the previous system, in which the fee had depended on ownership of a reception device, they had only been required to pay a reduced fee on the grounds that they only owned a radio or new...

On 2 February 2017, after conducting a three-step test, the BR-Rundfunkrat (Broadcasting Council of Bayerische Rundfunk - BR) approved the telemedia concept “Alignment of the retention period for fictional format categories on DasErste.de with the ARD retention period concept”. In the test, which lasted more than 12 months, experts assessed whether the telemedia concept met the democratic, social, and cultural needs of society and promoted media competition, as well as studying its financial impact on the market. Two factors determine for how long videos remain available in the ARD media library...

In Germany it is illegal to copy the so-called “bot software” that allows players of online role-playing games to automatically enhance their online characters. In a recently published decision of 6 October 2016, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that the use of such bot software for commercial purposes infringes the copyright of the developers of the online games concerned (case no. I ZR 25/15). Blizzard Entertainment, developer of the online role-playing games “World of Warcraft” and “Diablo III”, had filed a lawsuit against Bossland GmbH, which had developed a form...

On 12 January 2017, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) ruled that the sale of the so-called “bot software” that allows players of an online role-playing game to automatically enhance their avatars is illegal. It also prohibited the software developer Bossland GmbH from continuing to sell bot software for the popular online game “World of Warcraft” (case no. I ZR 253/14). Blizzard Entertainment, developer of the online role-playing games “World of Warcraft” and “Diabolo III”, had complained about the sale of Bossland bots “Honorbuddy” and “Gatherbuddy”. Blizzard Entertainment claimed...

In a judgment of 26 January 2017, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) found that a public service broadcaster had breached competition law by giving a publishing company the right to publish a printed work bearing its protected trademarks (case no. I ZR 207/14). The decision followed an action for an injunction brought by the Bauer publishing company against broadcaster SWR and one of its subsidiaries. The plaintiff, Bauer, which publishes cookery and lifestyle magazines, complained that SWR had, in relation to its programme “ARD Buffet” and as (co-)owner of the trademarks “ARD...