Search results : 1348

In a decision of 8 April 2014, the Oberlandesgericht Köln (Cologne Appeal Court - OLG) ruled that Google can be obliged to delete content in the form of “autocomplete” suggestions that breach personality rights (case no. 15 U 199/11). In the proceedings, a public limited company and its chairman had lodged a claim against the search engine operator after Google had suggested the terms “Scientology” and “Betrug” (the German word for “fraud”) when the chairman’s name was entered. The chairman claimed that this infringed his personality rights, while his company believed that it damaged its commercial...

The European Court of Human Rights has delivered an interesting judgment on the right to freedom of political expression, during pre-election time. The applicant, Mr Ulrich Brosa alleged that a court injunction in Germany, prohibiting him from distributing a leaflet that he had drawn up on the occasion of mayoral elections, had violated his right to freedom of expression. The injunction at issue prohibited Brosa from distributing a leaflet in which he called not to vote for a candidate, F.G. for the office of local mayor, who allegedly provided cover for a neo-Nazi organisation, Berger-88. The...

On 12 March 2014, the Broadcasting Commission of the Länder decided to launch an online consultation on the amendment of the Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (Inter-State Agreement on Youth Protection in the Media - JMStV). The online platform was launched on 24 March 2014 under the overall control of the Saxony State chancellery. The main topic of the discussion paper is the increasing importance of social platforms with user-generated content (UGC). Since, according to the JMStV, operators of private blogs with UGC are telemedia providers, they must ensure that they comply with provisions on...

In a decision of 11 March 2014 (case no. 16 O 73/13), the Landgericht Berlin (Berlin District Court) ruled that the isolated sale of computer game product keys, known as “keyselling”, breaches copyright. The plaintiff runs an online shop, from which he sells computer game product keys that he has obtained from business partners in Great Britain and Poland. The defendant, who sells a computer game in Germany, sent a warning letter to the plaintiff on 12 December 2012 concerning his business practice relating to the game. The letter asked the plaintiff to stop reselling serial numbers of the game....

In a ruling of 22 January 2014, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided that the use of typing-error domains to intercept customers can constitute an infringement of the ban on deliberate obstruction of competitors enshrined in Article 4(10) of the Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (Unfair Competition Act - UWG). The operator of the domain “www.wetteronline.de”, who operates an online weather service, had brought an action against the owner of the domain “www.wetteronlin.de”. Users who had landed on the latter website due to a typing error had been taken to the website...