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Fines for recycling end-of-life vehicles

Legal requirements relating to environmental protection and the circular economy may be challenging to implement, but they are no exception to the ban on cartels.

Revocation of an EU figurative mark

The General Court of the European Union recently dealt with a case concerning the partial revocation of an EU figurative mark (General Court, judgment of 22.01.2025, Ref. T-517/23).

EUGH referral: Management board liability for cartel fines?

Are managing directors liable for cartel fines imposed on the company? The ECJ must now answer this question.

The BGH makes it easier to issue warnings for data protection violations

The BGH has confirmed that data protection violations can be prosecuted not only by the data subjects themselves, but also by competitors and consumer associations.

More comprehensive protection of trade secrets through Section 273a ZPO

Section 273a of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO), which was introduced on April 1, 2025, provides extended protection for owners of trade secrets.

Misleading through automatic e-mail replies

Automatic email responses can justify a warning under unfair competition law.

Decision of the Austrian Supreme Court on trade secret protection

The Austrian Supreme Court issued a decision on the protection of trade secrets against former employees. Accordingly, the owner of a trade secret must protect it appropriately from a former employee.

Liability for incorrect information provided by AI

A business service is fully liable for incorrect information about companies generated by AI if an error-prone system is deliberately used and responsibility for the content is assumed.

Ruling on training AI with copyrighted works

The question of whether copyright-protected works may be used for AI training purposes is becoming increasingly important. The Hamburg Regional Court has now issued its first ruling on the use of images by an AI provider.

Can an AI be considered an inventor under patent law?

The question of the patentability of a machine-generated invention has repeatedly arisen in the past. This question has now been answered by the Federal Court of Justice in a recent decision (BGH, decision of 11.06.2024, ref. X ZB 5/22).

"Joint Purchasing Agreement“ for Licenses

For the first time, the German Federal Cartel Office has reviewed plans for the joint negotiation of patent licenses and considers this to be permissible.

Requirements for advertising with "climate neutrality reference"

The marketing of products with environmental characteristics such as "climate neutrality" is in vogue. The Federal Court of Justice has now issued a ruling on this (BGH, judgment of 27.06.2024 - I ZR 98/23), which is also likely to have an impact on the B2B sector.

Fine of € 16 Million for Deleted WhatsApp Messages

Companies must cooperate with antitrust authorities during dawn raids. Even supposedly small mistakes can have expensive consequences.

High Fine for Export Restrictions on Distributors

The European Commission has imposed € 337.5 million fine on Mondelez due to sales restrictions imposed by Mondelez on its distributors.

Federal Cartel Office fines vertical price fixing

After the ECJ’s decision in the Super Bock case, the German Federal Cartel Office still imposes a fine for vertical price fixing.

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