The decision deals with the requirements of the concept of a work of applied art and the distinction from design law; the case in question involved Birkenstock sandals. The background to the current proceedings concerning Birkenstock sandals before the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg and the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, and their diametrically opposed decisions in the instances, show how important it is to establish a uniform concept of work under European law. In particular, if objects were purely functional in their product history, copyright protection must be correctly denied.

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The background to this was a 2018 ZDF film about abducted children. This shed light on two abduction cases from the perspective of a journalist involved in the liberations. ZDF also reported on the abduction of the then eight-year-old plaintiff, which ended with her release after a ransom was paid, mentioning her birth name. To illustrate this, ZDF used two photos of the plaintiff, which her parents had made available to the investigating authorities for a public search. In addition, the cover page of a magazine was shown on which the plaintiff was pictured with her mother after her release. The Federal Court of Justice sets the duty of care of the press to obtain consent to use the images extremely high - even more than 30 years after the crimes. Too high, in the opinion of Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef.

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Buying license keys for computer games from the original manufacturer is usually very expensive. Whether buying from resellers - who offer significantly lower prices - is legal is legally controversial. There is no supreme court case law on this. What is certain is that the sale of "used" application software is legal. This has been decided by the European Court of Justice. However, as computer games also have "multimedia elements", lawyers are arguing about whether games should be treated differently from software. Our opinion on this

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Our games law expert, Professor Christian Rauda, has examined the ruling of the General Court of the European Union on the admissibility of geo-blocking in the Valve case. A ruling with explosive force for the games industry.

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When things get complicated in terms of press law, we're there. For freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. For the general right of personality. It's not about winning at any price, it's about balancing both basic rights appropriately.

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Read more on Sueddeutsche.de - SZ article as PDF

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e‌i‌s‌q GmbH & Co. KG | Legal Expert in Talk: Outsourcing without responsibility? 7 questions

Part 1

Part 2

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It was a celebration for us. 10 years of the German Advertising Film Award. More colorful than ever. We wholeheartedly support the German advertising film producers and the Producers' Alliance.

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Gamesmarkt reports on this year's Hamburg Games Conference.

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Our specialist for personal rights accompaniment of film productions, Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef, at the Berlinale Moot Court. There we will discuss the possibilities and limits of fictional storytelling in the conflict between artistic freedom, personal rights and public interest.

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You can meet the following companies at the Hamburg Games Conference on March 1 and 2 in Hamburg. We have many international guests, an exciting program over two days about "Invest in Games" as well as Meet2Match. Come and join us.

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A miscarriage of justice from the Luxembourg courts that has the copyright world on the edge of its seat right now: Jingna Zhang v. "appropriation art" artist Jeff Dieschburg, the photograph of an Asian model (right) v. Dieschburg's appropriation (left). The motif, design, the roses, the folds of the dress, the facial expression are identical. But the Luxembourg court saw no infringement in Dieschburg's image. Attorney Christian Rauda, one of the copyright specialists here in our team, is "highly perplexed" in an interview with Land magazine and speaks of an "extreme misjudgment by the court in view of the excessive demands on the plaintiff's burden of proof. Only the next higher instance can help.

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We are pleased to have contributed to the handbook "Games und Recht" with our articles on "Influencer Marketing and Influencer Contracts" (Ralph Oliver Graef) and "Trademark and Work Title Law" (Christian Rauda). On more than 560 pages, there is concentrated legal know-how on the topics of publishing, marketing, business models, licenses, youth protection, data protection, copyright, employment contracts, trademark law and promotion.

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