Legal Developments and updates from the leading lawyers in each jurisdiction. To contribute, send an email request to
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Liquids for e-cigarettes
must not be promoted using the slogan “Genuss ohne Reue ” (enjoyment
without regrets). That was the verdict of the Landgericht (LG) Essen, the
Regional Court of Essen, in a ruling from October 25, 2019 (Az.: 41 O 13/19).
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Consumers must not be deprived of information material to their decision whether or not to make a purchase. This constitutes a breach of competition law, as demonstrated by a ruling of the Oberlandesgericht (OLG) Hamm, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm.
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A purely plant-based product can be promoted as an alternative to cheese. The Oberlandesgericht (OLG) Celle, the Higher Regional Court of Celle, ruled that this kind of advertising is neither unfair nor misleading to consumers.
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Pension payments to a shareholder with a controlling stake who also draws a managing director’s salary do not necessarily constitute hidden profit distributions according to the Finanzgericht (FG) Münster, the Fiscal Court of Münster.
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Strategic litigation is essential to enforcing one’s rights in national and cross-border legal disputes.
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The courts have been grappling for years with the extent to which sampling pieces of music breaches copyright. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has now ruled that sampling is permissible within narrow parameters.
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If websites make use of social plugins, the ECJ has ruled that the provider and the operator of the site are jointly responsible for the collection and transfer of personal user information.
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The Steinhoff accounting scandal has shaken investors. Those who have incurred losses can join the ongoing model case proceedings pursuant to the German Capital Markets Model Case Act, the Kapitalanleger-Musterverfahrensgesetz (KapMuG).
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The Bundesjustizministerium, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Justice, has submitted draft legislation designed to combat corporate criminality. The bill provides for, among other things, significantly harsher penalties.
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Germany is the county of origin for fruits and vegetables harvested in Germany, even if prior to this the fruits or vegetables were grown in another country. That was the verdict of the ECJ.