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The 7th Chamber of the Verwaltungsgericht Hannover (Hanover Administrative Court) in a judgment of 18 February 2016 (Case 7 A 13293/15) has held that if a chocolate biscuit is too highly praised in a TV show, this constitutes prohibited product placement. In a controversial scene lasting about ninety seconds in the RTL show “Ich bin ein Star - Holt mich hier raus” (Dschungelcamp) (I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here [Jungle Camp]), the show’s participants were given a metal box with a big packet of “Pick Up” chocolate biscuits manufactured by food manufacturer, Bahlsen. The participants opened...

According to media reports, in a judgment of 1 December 2015 (Case U 74/15) the Kammergericht Berlin (Berlin Higher Regional Court) ruled in appellate proceedings that advertising for virtual products in an online role-playing game should not necessarily be regarded as a direct invitation to children to buy the items. There was, the Court said, no breach of competition law as the advertising messages in the game were not aimed specifically at minors but at all players. The Court had to rule on a complaint from the Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband (Federation of German Consumer Organisations) concerning...

The Amtsgericht Potsdam (Potsdam District Court) has ruled in a recently published judgment of 16 April 2015 (Case 37 C 454/13) that flying a drone equipped with a camera over a neighbour’s property violates the neighbour’s privacy rights. This therefore justifies a claim for injunctive relief under Article 1004(1), 2nd sentence of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (Civil Code -BGB) in conjunction with Article 823(1) BGB, and Article 1(1), 1st sentence, in conjunction with Article 2(1) of the Grundgesetz (Basic Law - GG). The plaintiff is the sole owner of a property protected by high hedges, the main...

On 15 April 2016, the German Chancellor announced that the Federal Government would grant a request to allow investigations to be conducted against a German satirist for insulting a foreign head of state. The satirist had made controversial comments in a television programme about the President of Turkey in the form of a poem entitled Schmähkritik (abusive criticism). On 8 April 2016, the Turkish government had sent the German government a request for criminal proceedings to be brought. The German satire programme Extra 3 had produced a music video featuring the Turkish President that took a critical...

At its sitting on 27 January 2016, the Landtag (parliament) of North Rhine-Westphalia passed a new law providing for changes for the public service broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). The law provides a new overall plan to strengthen the public service broadcasting system and safeguard the diversity of media reporting. The law defines the remit of WDR and lays down its institutional structure. For example, the broadcaster is given a clear mandate for the organisation of information and communication services (Telemedien) and Internet content, with the aim of ensuring its future in the digital...