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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...

On 25 February 2016, the National Audiovisual Council (Consiliul Naţional al Audiovizualului, CNA) issued Recommendation no. 2/2016 with regard to the correct use of the Romanian language in commercial communications aired by audiovisual media service providers (see IRIS 2011-1/37, IRIS 2012-3:1/31, and IRIS 2014-1/40). The Recommendation was triggered by more ads aired between November and December 2015 and is based on Article 6 paragraphs 1) to 5) and Article 17 paragraph 1) d) 2) of Audiovisual Law no. 504/2002, republished. These articles of the Audiovisual Law entail the powers of the CNA...

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...

The Oberlandesgericht München (Munich Regional Court) held, in a judgment of 28 January 2016 (Case 29 U 2798/15), that the online video portal YouTube cannot be held liable for breaches of copyright committed via the platform. The case comprised an action for damages brought against YouTube by the music performing rights society GEMA. For many years, GEMA has been demanding licence fees from YouTube for the use of music in the videos on its platform. YouTube refuses to pay, which GEMA considers unreasonable, especially in view of the advertising revenues generated by YouTube. It claims that YouTube...