23 results found

In 2013, several artists and music production companies filed a constitutional complaint with the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVerfG) against two Federal Court of Justice that held that the sampling of a two-second sequence of rhythms was not admissible under the German Copyright Act (UrhG).

On 20 December 2018, the German Federal Court of Justice confirmed that photographs of public domain paintings ‎are, in principle, protected by a copyright-related right in section 72 of the German Copyright Act (Case No. I ZR 104/17).

The Gurlitt task force appointed by Germany's culture minister had been established after the collection surfaced in 2013.

On 29 July 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on the copyright implications of sampling in music and established criteria as to when sampling falls within the scope of artistic freedom.

Germany's highest civil court has ruled that an unlicensed sample from Kraftwerk's 1977 track "Metall auf Metall" used in a hip hop song qualifies as lawful pastiche under EU copyright law. This landmark decision, concluding a nearly 30-year legal dispute, establishes new parameters for when sampling can constitute creative engagement rather than mere copying, though it stops short of providing blanket protection for all unauthorized samples.

Works returned by Monuments Men to Bavaria for restitution to victims instead sold to Nazis' families.

On April 14, 2026, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a landmark ruling in Case C-590/23 (Pelham II), clarifying the scope of the “pastiche” exception under Article 5(3)(k)...

Möglicherweise werden spätere Generationen Cornelius Gurlitt (1932-2014) dafür dankbar sein, dass er es war, dessen Sammlung fast 70 Jahre nach Kriegsende eine überfällige...

As Germany gets ready to host the First Conference of the German Centre for Cultural Property Losses next week, its policies are hurtling in the wrong direction.

In einem wegweisenden Urteil zur urheberrechtlichen Pastiche Schranke hat das Landgericht Berlin (Az.: 15 O 551/19) der Freiheit der Kunst und damit dem Maler Martin Eder zum Recht verholfen.

Advertising calls for the right kind of music. Well-known titles do not always have to be more expensive than budget-friendly, unknown songs.

Am 14. April 2026 hat der Gerichtshof der Europäischen Union (EuGH) in der Rechtssache C‑590/23 (Pelham II) eine grundlegende Entscheidung erlassen und den Anwendungsbereich der Ausnahme für die...

The revelation that Bavaria re-sold looted artworks to Nazi families while giving victims and their heirs the run-around for years has clearly touched a nerve at the Bavarian State Paintings Collection.

The newly published German Coalition Agreement 2025 (CA 2025), German language version available here, outlines the agenda of the new German government...

The German Federal Court of Justice has delivered a landmark ruling in the decades-long "Metall auf Metall" litigation, applying the EU Court of Justice's framework to determine whether unauthorized music sampling can qualify as lawful "pastiche" under copyright law. The decision examines whether a two-second rhythm sequence from Kraftwerk's 1977 recording, used repeatedly in a 1997 song, constitutes permissible artistic dialogue or copyright infringement.

Improvements in the user interface of electronic devices are oftentimes right on the borderline of what is technical.

On May 14, 2020, the Enlarged Board of Appeal of the European Patent Office (EPO) decided that excluding "essentially biological processes for the production of plants...