IPT Germany

Trade Secrets Directive – Agreement between Commission, Parliament and Council

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On 15 December 2015, the EU Commission, the Council and the Parliament agreed on a final compromise text of a “Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure” (“Directive”). Background The Commission’s original proposal of November …

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Big Changes Ahead: European Trademark Reform Package adopted

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Significant changes to European trademark law will be coming into effect in 2016. Just before the turn of the year the European Parliament adopted a very substantial reform package for EU trademarks. The revised laws aim to make EU trademark law fit for the challenges of business in the 21st Century, for example by making …

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Online Streitbeilegung – Hinweispflicht für Online-Händler trotz fehlender Plattform

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Seit dem 9. Januar 2016 sind Online-Händler verpflichtet, auf die Online-Streitbeilegungsplattform der EU-Kommission hinzuweisen – auch wenn die Plattform bislang noch nicht einsatzbereit ist: Mit Verordnung (EU) Nr. 524/2013 vom 21. Mai 2013 (sog. “ODR-Verordnung”) hatte die EU-Kommission die Schaffung einer Internetplattform zur Online-Beilegung von Streitigkeiten (sog. “OS-Plattform”) beschlossen. Damit sollte der Verbraucherschutz gestärkt und …

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DPAs Call into Question ALL Methods of Data Transfer to United States

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By Dr. Thomas Jansen and Dr. Jan Geert Meents Yesterday, October 26, 2015, the German Federal Data Protection Officer and the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) of the German Federal States (together “Datenschutzkonferenz” – DSK) issued a position paper calling into question all methods of data transfer to the United States. Specifically, the European Court of …

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German DPAs issue a Position Paper on Safe Harbor

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By Dr. Jan Geert Meents and Dr. Thomas Jansen Today the German Federal Data Protection Officer and the Data Protection Authorities (DPAs) of the German Federal States (together “Datenschutzkonferenz” – DSK) issued a joint statement on the Safe Harbor decision: According to the Safe Harbor decision of 6 October 2015, a data transfer based on …

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New German Data Retention Law: Retention Obligations for Providers of Publicly Available Telecommunications and Internet Access Services

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By Dr. Jan Geert Meents, Dr. Thomas Jansen and Dr. Reka Hatala Today the German Bundestag passed a highly disputed law on the retention of personal data. 404 out of 559 MEPs voted for the bill pursuant to which German providers of publicly available telecommunication and internet access services must store call detail records (CDR) …

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BREAKING NEWS: Data Protection Authority Calls to Stop Data Transfers Based on EU Model Clauses

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By Dr. Thomas Jansen and Dr. Reka Hatala   Today the Independent Centre for Privacy Protection of the Federal State Schleswig-Holstein (“ULD”), one of the seventeen data protection authorities in Germany, published its position paper on the Safe Harbor decision of the ECJ. While most of the authorities have been cautious in connection with the …

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German DPA Imposes Significant Fine for Commissioned Data Processing Without a Proper

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By: Dr. Thomas Jansen and Mari Martin On August 20, 2015, the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (DPA) issued a press release stating that it had imposed a significant fine on an organization that engaged in commissioned data processing without first concluding a proper data processing agreement. Background Pursuant to section 11 of the German Federal …

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Use of customer data following an asset deal results in huge fines for seller and buyer

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Dr. Thomas Jansen and Dr. Reka Hatala The Bavarian Data Protection Authority imposed an extraordinarily high fine for violating the data protection laws in the course of a company acquisition. According to the Authority´s press release dated 30 July 2015, both the seller and buyer in the acquisition were fined a five digit amount each …

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Indemnity claim for franchisees? Good news and bad news from Germany

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Some people say franchising doesn’t play a big role in Germany. A number of recent court decisions has proven the opposite. One of the hottest topics under German distribution law is in the focus again. In February 2015 the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof or “BGH“) had to decide the highly debated question whether …

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“Huawei v ZTE” – CJEU landmark decision provides new ground rules for asserting standard-essential patents in Europe

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In a landmark decision issued on July 16, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)  provided new guidelines on how patent infringement courts in Europe should deal with patent proprietors seeking injunctions or the recall of products on the basis of an (alleged) infringement of a standard-essential patent (SEP) if those SEP …

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2015 – The year of the patent trolls?

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According to a recent survey of the US organization Unified Patents (published on the website of the online portal arstechnica, please click here), the number of lawsuits in the US has again rised. In the first half of 2015, 68 percent of all patent lawsuits were filed by patent trolls. In the high-tech sector, even about 90 percent of all patent …

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Handle with care – the Commission’s agenda on trade secrets protection

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The Commission’s proposal for a “DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure” (the “Directive”) is meant to bring the protection of trade secrets to a new level. An article looking at key elements of the …

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Clawback Extended: Retention of Title in Legal Limbo

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Retention of title (Eigentumsvorbehalt) is a standard tool in German business for granting security in supply relationships. Usually, it is granted as an extended and/or expanded retention of title (verlängerter und/oder erweiterter Eigentumsvorbehalt). Basically, the supplier receives a revolving security to the delivered movable assets until receipt of all payments under the business relationship. According …

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Update on EU General Data Protection Regulation: Preparation for Trilogue on 14th July

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On 14th July 2015 the next trilogue meeting between EU Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the European Union will be held. At that meeting the parties will discuss the following topics: Article 3(2) – Territorial scope Article 25 – Representatives of controllers not established in the Union Chapter V – Transfers of personal …

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