Articles from Marius Adler

14. Nov 2023 Permissible content of environmental advertising claims: draft of the EU Green Claims Directive

The European Commission has published a draft directive on the EU-wide regulation of environmental advertising claims. In Germany, such "green claims" or "greenwashing" accusations are currently the subject of many court cases, although a uniform line of case law is still developing. The EU's draft directive goes far beyond the current requirements and could lead to a large number of current advertising claims and sustainability seals becoming unlawful.
3. Nov 2023 Accusation of "greenwashing": warning for advertising with certified climate neutrality

When companies are committed to environmental and climate protection, there is a regular desire to communicate this publicly. External service providers in particular are therefore increasingly offering "certification" of climate neutrality, which can then be used to advertise products or the company to business partners. However, three recent competition law judgments show: The devil lurks in the detail. Incorrect advertising design can not only lead to accusations of "greenwashing" that damage a company's reputation, but also to costly warnings and court proceedings with a difficult-to-predict outcome.

IP/IT Stuttgart
12. Jul 2023 EU Commission adequacy decision on the USA - transfer of personal data to many US companies finally possible again with legal certainty

What happened?
The transfer of data to countries with a lower level of data protection than the EU - such as the USA to date - is generally prohibited. On Monday, July 10, 2023, the European Commission has now adopted an adequacy decision for secure and trustworthy data flows between the EU and the USA.

Digital & analog, IT law, copyright, e-commerce
14. Mar 2023 Technical IT deficiencies prior to ransomware attack result in GDPR fines Ransomware

The Irish data protection supervisory authority was not previously known for its overly strict application of the GDPR requirements. In many cases, it has been surprisingly lenient, especially towards large tech companies based in Ireland. This makes the authority's latest decision, which involves a fine of half a million euros and could have an impact on IT security and the technical data protection requirements of companies, all the more surprising. The authority states that even supposedly minor failures in IT security can result in large fines, even without any additional circumstances.

IP/IT Stuttgart
28. Feb 2023 EU expands Russia sanctions package with comprehensive export bans on dual-use goods Compliance

With what is now the tenth package of sanctions, the European Union is further tightening its measures against Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine. There are new trade restrictions, particularly for industrial goods not previously covered. Companies have reason and necessity to review their own compliance measures.

IP/IT Stuttgart
14. Nov 2022 Data protection with the involvement of US service providers

What do "Google Fonts" warnings, Office 365 and the EU-US Data Privacy Framework have in common?

IP/IT Stuttgart
3. May 2022 Changes to sales law in business contracts became effective on 01.01.2022 Sales law

As of 01.01.2022, extensive legal changes came into force with the implementation of the EU Sales of Goods Directive and the Digital Content Directive. The legal changes relate in particular to sales and general terms and conditions law and have an impact on the respective contract design. In this respect, the amendment to the law has been described as the biggest reform of the law of obligations in two decades. The changes affect consumers and entrepreneurs alike. Many legal aspects remain unclear even after the amendments have come into force. The following non-exhaustive overview is intended to present the most important changes for contracts between companies.

IP/IT Stuttgart
25. Apr 2022 Draft of a new EU Machinery Regulation reaches important intermediate step

In March 2022, the European legislative process to revise the so-called "Machinery Directive" (Directive 2006/42/EC) reached another important intermediate step. The legislative process is now entering the decisive phase, in which final votes and negotiations will take place, leading directly to the adoption of a draft law by the European Parliament. For the machinery sector, this means changes in a regulatory area whose relevance should not be underestimated. We would like to use this final legislative phase to provide an overview of the current status of the draft EU Machinery Regulation.

IP/IT Stuttgart
31. Jul 2020 Trademark law: Distribution and trademark protection in international trade especially in China

No other country is more frequently associated with the term "brand piracy" (counterfeit products) than the People's Republic of China. According to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), manufacturers in the EU recently suffered a loss of revenue of 60 billion euros annually due to imported counterfeits, and this figure is rising. Medium-sized companies in particular are therefore shying away from the lucrative Chinese market, as selling their own products increases the risk of counterfeiting. Nevertheless, the export quota is continuously increasing. In 2019 alone, goods worth 95.97 billion euros were exported from Germany.

IP/IT Stuttgart