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On 6 February 2013, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Supreme Court - BGH) decided, in a request for a preliminary ruling, to ask the Court of Justice of the European Union under which provisions technical measures taken to protect copyrighted video games were themselves protected. The plaintiff in the national court proceedings produces and sells video games for a portable games console, which are only sold on special memory cards exclusively designed for this console. The defendants had sold, on the Internet, adapters for these memory cards with either a built-in memory chip or a slot for standard...

In a ruling of 17 December 2012 (case no. 5 K 1128/11.NW), which is yet to be published, the Verwaltungsgericht Neustadt an der Weinstraße (Neustadt an der Weinstraße Administrative Court - VG) upheld the appeal by the TV broadcaster Sat.1 against a decision of the Landesmedienanstalt Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate media authority - LMK) concerning unlawful product placement. The Kommission für Zulassung und Aufsicht (Licensing and Monitoring Commission - ZAK), a joint body created by the Landesmedienanstalten (regional media authorities) to monitor the media at national level, had found...

On 28 December 2012, the Bundeskartellamt (Federal Cartels Office - BKartA) fined Germany’s two biggest private broadcasters, the RTL Group and ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, for entering into anti-competitive agreements under which both companies’ digital channels were to be broadcast in encrypted form. Even the main channels of both broadcasting groups would only be available for a monthly subscription fee. The companies were fined a total of around EUR 55 million. As well as the companies themselves, fines were imposed on two of their employees, who were held to be responsible for the agreement. The...

In a judgment of 30 October 2012 (Case VI ZR 4/12) the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice - BGH) ruled that the retention of reports on suspected offenders in online archives is lawful. The plaintiff worked as a “special operations officer” for the Ministry of State Security in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). However, in civil proceedings he made a statutory declaration that he had never worked for that ministry. As a result of this false testimony, the public prosecutor’s office instituted criminal investigation proceedings against him, which were subsequently discontinued against...

At its final meeting on the culture budget on 9 November 2012, the Budget Committee of the Bundestag voted an additional EUR 100 million for culture, an increase in funding of about eight per cent. This means that the culture budget has been significantly increased for the eighth year running. According to the Staatsminister für Kultur und Medien (Minister of State for Culture and Media), this cannot be taken for granted given the current public sector austerity measures and the constitutionally mandated “debt ceiling”. The total budget will amount to EUR 1.28 billion. The promotion of film production...