Articles from Dr. Gerrit Hötzel

9. Nov 2015 News in passing: Singing the Happy Birthday song probably not a copyright infringement after all

The well-known song "Happy Birthday to You" is protected by copyright (which is largely unknown). Any public singing of the song must therefore be remunerated.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
9. Nov 2015 Obligation to take back "electronic waste" for online retailers

The new Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG) has recently come into force. This means that online retailers are also obliged to take back old electrical appliances. Online store operators must take back smaller appliances with an edge length of up to 25 cm free of charge and larger appliances when purchasing a new appliance. For online retailers, the take-back obligation only applies if all storage and shipping areas for electrical and electronic equipment together exceed the limit of 400 square meters. Smaller online retailers are therefore exempt from the take-back obligation.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
9. Nov 2015 ECJ: Safe Harbor Agreement invalid

The ECJ has declared the Safe Harbor Agreement invalid. The general media also reported on this. The Safe Harbor Agreement is a legal construct to make the transfer of personal data to certain companies in the USA permissible. This is because every data transfer to a non-EU country requires justification under data protection law. If an online store operator therefore uses service providers in the USA, the data protection law-compliant structure should be checked. Many online store operators will be affected, for example, by the integration of Google Analytics or the operation of a Facebook fan page.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
9. Nov 2015 LG Wuppertal: Advertising flyer must contain complete revocation instructions with sample revocation form

An entrepreneur had enclosed an advertising brochure with a print medium that contained a reply card and an order card. A complete revocation instruction and a sample revocation form were missing. The entrepreneur argued that he was allowed to refrain from a complete reproduction due to the limited display options (Art. 246a § 3 EGBGB). The Wuppertal Regional Court did not agree with this. Even in advertising brochures in which every additional word is "cash", the consumer protection regulations must be fully complied with.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
21. Sep 2015 IT security law in hospitals

The "Act to Increase the Security of Information Technology Systems" (IT Security Act) came into force on July 25, 2015.

Medical and social law
5. Aug 2015 E-mail newsletters as prohibited spam

Due to current events: According to case law, the sending of advertising e-mails is subject to a warning if the addressee has not expressly consented beforehand. A newsletter that reports on industry events is also considered an advertising email.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
5. Aug 2015 BGH: Framing is now permitted

YouTube videos may be embedded as frames, as is already common practice. This has now been decided by the BGH in its Reality II ruling. In Reality I, the BGH took a different view in 2013 and referred the question to the ECJ. However, the ECJ ruled that framing was permissible in 2014. The BGH has now transposed this ECJ ruling into German law. The judgment has not yet been published, so the details are not yet known.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
5. Aug 2015 IT Security Act in force

The IT Security Act is a law that amends the BSI Act, the Atomic Energy Act, the Energy Industry Act, the Telemedia Act, the Telecommunications Act, the Federal Salaries Act, the Federal Criminal Police Office Act and the Act on the Structural Reform of Federal Fees Law. What is it all about?

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
5. Aug 2015 LG Frankfurt a. M.: Sofortüberweisung may not be the only means of payment

The consumer must be provided with a "common and reasonable free of charge" means of payment available in the online store. This is stipulated in the new Section 312a (4) BGB. According to the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main, the payment method "instant bank transfer" does not meet these criteria as it is "unreasonable". The unreasonableness exists because the consumer must provide the operator of "Sofortüberweisung" with account data, account statement data and PIN/TAN data as well as consent to the retrieval of account data in order to pay. Sofortüberweisung is therefore not prohibited. However, at least one other means of payment must be offered that is common, reasonable and free of charge.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
28. Jul 2015 Current need for action to convert supply contracts

Current developments in medical device law require adjustments to the contracts normally used in supply chains. We would like to draw your attention to some of these points with this information. In addition, we would like to draw your attention to a number of erroneous or ineffective clauses in contracts for medical device supply chains, which we have recently encountered more frequently in our advisory practice:

Medical and social law
3. Jun 2015 Planning for new Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV)

The protection of minors on the internet is to be revised - again. According to reports, the federal states are currently planning an online survey to be carried out this month (June 2015).

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
3. Jun 2015 Lawsuit due to use of the Facebook button

The consumer association Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V. has issued warnings to various companies for using the official Facebook button ("Like"). Legal action was taken against Peek & Cloppenburg and Payback. The complaint alleges a breach of data protection law because the Facebook plugin is loaded by Facebook every time a page is accessed, Facebook therefore receives the information about the page view and can therefore create a "movement profile". We have already pointed out the possible data protection violation in the consultation and suggested technical alternatives.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce

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