Our lawfirm.biz team grows anew: We are pleased to welcome lawyer Dr Sebastian Gorski in our firm. He completed his legal clerkship in Hamburg and awarded his doctorate in Marburg in the field of copyright law and competition law. Additionally, he gained professional experience in a law firm in Frankfurt. Dr Gorski supports our team in the areas of trademark law, competition law and copyright law.

Important Terms and Conditions Check and interview with lawyer Hild and lawyer Bachmann in the CHIP September 2010 edition

“Im AGB-Dschungel” (“In the jungle of Terms and Conditions”) is the title of the wide terms and conditions check of CHIP. The law firm Hild & Colleagues has checked, for the well-known computer magazine CHIP, hundreds of pages containing terms and conditions, terms of use, licence agreements and privacy policies in the field of Internet and IT. The law firm has also legally tested numerous clauses for CHIP. For this purpose, certified lawyer Hagen Hild (certified lawyer in IT-Law and certified lawyer in Protection of Industrial...

Judgement of OLG Frankfurt / Main (Higher Regional Court Frankfurt / Main) of 15/04/2010, file number: 6 U 49/09

Consumers have basically a right of withdrawal from distance contracts.  This excludes, however, and according to § 312 b paragraph 3 BGB (German Civil Code) services related to carriage in case that this service should be provided within a defined period. With this exceptional rule, entrepreneurs should not be disproportionately burdened. In case that a buyer purchases a train ticket over the Internet and he has the possibility to make two single train journeys with this ticket within 11 weeks, than this exceptional rule would be...

Judgement of OLG Hamm (Higher Regional Court Hamm) of 22/04/2010, file number: I-4 U 205/09

Provided that products are offered on the Internet without reference about their availability, means that the goods can be immediately shipped. In case that an immediate delivery is not possible and there is no reference of this on the add, then this advertisement is misleading and anti-competitive.

Press release of the Federal Network Agency dated 30/06/2010

Only a month ago, the European Court has decided that the regulation 717/2007 of the European Parliament about the regulation of roaming fees in other European countries, is legal. Since 1st July 2010, the roaming costs for mobile calls have been again reduced. Consumers pay a maximum of 39 cent/minute for outgoing calls in other EU country, a maximum of 15 cent/minute for incoming calls and not more than 11 cent for text messages (all prices excl. VAT).

Judgement of OLG Hamburg (Higher Regional Court Hamburg) of 12/05/2010, file number: 3 U 58/08

The name “Stimmt´s”, for the heading of a quality weekly newspaper, is protected. This happens since the colloquial form of the question has a minimum level of originality and a distinctive character for the consumer. The operator of a commercial Internet portal is therefore not allowed to use the name “Stimmt´s” for the knowledge rubric of his website, which is concerned with similar matters. 

Judgement of LAG Niedersachsen (Higher Labour Court Niedersachsen) of 31/05/2010, file number: 12 Sa 875/09

When an employee reads and writes private e-mails during the working hours and over a longer period – on several days even in such a time frame that it could suggest that no time is left for the job completion –, this excessive private emailing justifies an extraordinary dismissal without previous warning.

Judgement of AG Berlin-Mitte (Local Court Berlin) of 12/01/2010, file number: 14 C 1016/09

Provides a mobile service to its users the possibility to register the cell number in order to apply for offered services and a confirmation short message follows after mentioned application, this SMS cannot be considered as a junk mail. The SMS has no sales promotion purpose but fulfils the information duty.

Judgement of LG Köln (Regional Court Cologne) of 12/05/2010, file number: 28 O 175/10

A nationwide well-known weather forecaster must not tolerate that the press publishes concrete details about the investigation concerning the procedure against him. Although the rape allegations count with an important public interest, they could cause a difficult complete rehabilitation of the weather forecaster in case of exculpation.

Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 08/07/2010, file number: T-30/09

The Court of Justice of the European Union affirmed the likelihood of confusion between the word marks “peerstorm” and “PETER STORM”, both registered for clothing articles. Both trademarks have a visual, phonetic and conceptual similarity. Although the use of signs, made up of first and last name, is usual in the clothing sector, a likelihood of confusion exists if both trademarks are used for the same product line.

Judgement of LG Düsseldorf (Regional Court Düsseldorf) of 03/02/2010, file number: 12 O 173/09

An online travel portal, as a mediator of flights, must indicate the total price of a flight including any applicable booking fees, as soon as the price is indicated as “total price”. A small asterisk note is not enough if the fees are not transparently specified.

Judgement of AG Marburg (Local Court Marburg) of 08/02/2010, file number: 91 C 981/09

The provider of a website where apparently free downloads are offered, however misleads the customer regarding the true costs and lures him into a chargeable subscription, makes himself liable to prosecution because of fraud, according to § 263 StGB (German Criminal Code). A lawyer who, on behalf of the provider, warns the non-paying customers and even tries to enforce the demands in court, makes himself also liable to prosecution because of accessory to fraud.

Judgement of KG Berlin (Superior Court of Justice Berlin) of 15/06/2010, file number: 5 U 35/08

Copies of already published photographs are certainly permissible as a part of a quotation and if they are not only used with pure decorative and illustrative purposes. The reproduction of an unmodified small picture in a larger picture shows a “copyright relevant intervention” according to §§ 72, 15, 16 UrhG (German Copyright Act).

Judgement of OLG Oldenburg (Higher Regional Court Oldenburg) of 22/04/2010, file number: 1W 16/10

A company may principally advertise with a long family tradition. The so-called maturity stage, however, contains hidden quality features which may influence the customer and his purchase decision. Therefore, this maturity stage may occur in a certain extend. Advertising with the continuity of a company is only allowed if this continuity really lasted during the highlighted period. Advertising with a 110-years-old family tradition, although the company has been re-established 18 years ago, is inadmissible and anticompetitive.

Judgement of OLG Köln (Higher Regional Court Cologne) of 27/04/2010, file number: 3 U 160/09

The delivery company DHL may not provide in his terms and conditions that customers must give notice in writing in case of (partial-) loss or damage within seven days after delivery. This clause excludes inadmissibly writings such e-mail or fax. Additionally, the clause clears insufficiently up, that to meet the deadline, timely sending of the damage notice shall suffice.

Judgement of the OLG Hamm (Higher Regional Court Hamm) of 04/05/2010, file number: 4 U 32/10

Advertises a distributor of advertising material with the words "Free delivery within Germany and Austria for online orders" without pointing out that a surcharge of 4,80 € would be charged on orders under 50 € and that packaging expenses will be also calculated on online orders, so the distributor behaves anticompetitive compared to other competitors.

Judgement of LG Berlin (Regional Court Berlin) of 27/04/2010, file number; 27 O 66/10

The plaintiff, a famous comedian, is in an alimony dispute with his father, who had admitted to the press in the past that he was impoverished and dependent on the maintenance of his son. The father’s lawyers wrote that “it is written in the stars to what extend such procedure can be kept away from the interest of the public”. The plaintiff demanded an omission from his father to speak to the media about the alimony procedure and about the fact that the plaintiff pays no maintenance. Thereafter, an article was published in which the father was quoted with the words: “My...

Judgement of LG Braunschweig (Regional Court Braunschweig) of 02/06/2010, file number: 22 O 514/10

A gym advertised in print media with a training belt “Slim Belly” which should bring “8,6 cm less waist within four weeks”. The campaign has not mentioned that, in addition, endurance training is required. Even during the proceeding, the studio operator could not demonstrate the sole effect of the belt, therefore, the advertising is misleading.

We are pleased to inform that Lawyer Monika Bandouch is entitled with immediate effect to bear the title acredited certified lawyer in Protection of Industrial Property.

The lawfirm.biz-Team congratulate sincerely!

The Ravensburger publishing was subject to two procedures against its Spanish competitor Educa Borras S.A. The court of the European Union in Luxemburg delivered the judgement that the word “Memory” has a purely describing nature and therefore it is not capable of being registered as a trademark.  Hence, the community trademark applied by Ravensburger was deleted on request of the Spanish games and puzzles manufacturer. For several years now, the term “Memory” is protected in Germany and Austria for games. In a further judgement, the court consequently approved the application of the figurative mark “Educa Memory game”. There is no danger of confusion with the Ravensburger games. The...