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Tierbefreier E.V. is an association based in Germany that militates in favour animal rights. A court decision prevented the association from disseminating film footage, which was secretly taken by a journalist on the premises of a company performing experiments on animals for the pharmaceutical industry (C. company). The journalist used his footage to produce documentary films of different lengths, critically commenting on the way in which laboratory animals were treated. His films, or extracts from them, were shown on different TV channels. Largely based on the journalist’s footage, Tierbefreier...

In a decision of 8 October 2013, the Amtsgericht Düsseldorf (Düsseldorf District Court - AG) ruled that a claim based on an out-of-court settlement was unenforceable because it had been preceded by a fraudulent-filesharing caution and its enforcement was incompatible with the defence of bad faith. At the rightsholders’ request, a law firm specialising in copyright had informed the defendant that her Internet connection had been used to make 537 copyright-protected music files available for download. As the connection owner, she was obliged to reimburse the legal prosecution costs even if she had...

Ruling on an appeal, on 5 November 2013 (case no. 15 U 44/13), the Oberlandesgericht Köln (Cologne Appeal Court - OLG) decided that an actress’s own image rights can be breached if a picture from a film is used in an electrical chain store’s advertising brochure without the necessary permission. The OLG therefore confirmed the ruling of the Landgericht Köln (Cologne District Court - LG) of 20 February 2013 (case no. 28 O 431/12). An action had been brought after a picture of the actress appeared in an electrical chain store’s advertising brochure. A double-page spread in the brochure showed three...

In its decisions of 7 August 2013 and 23 September 2013, the Oberlandesgericht Hamm (Hamm Appeal Court - OLG) ruled that the YouTube video platform is not obliged to delete videos concerning a fatal traffic accident that name the person responsible. The plaintiff in the proceedings had caused a traffic accident in 2008, in which two people were killed. In 2009, he received a suspended one-year prison sentence, a EUR 5,000 fine and a one-month driving ban. The accident was the subject of numerous media reports. Unknown users collected these reports and created a number of videos about the accident....

In a ruling of 19 September 2013 (case no. 7 B 12.2358), the Bayerische Verwaltungsgerichtshof (Bavarian Administrative Court - BayVGH) overturned a decision of the Bayerische Landeszentrale für Medien (Bavarian New Media Authority - BLM), prohibiting a media company from operating its (entire) erotic teletext service on pages 600-900 between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The ban had been imposed following an examination of the service by an inspection team appointed by the Kommission für Jugendmedienschutz (Commission for the protection of young people in the media - KJM). The inspection team,...