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The Higher Regional Court of Hamm (judgment of April 27, 2023 – 4 U 247/21) had to deal with the question of whether aerial photographs of fine artworks taken by a drone infringe the artists’ copyright or whether such photographs are permissible under the keyword of “panorama freedom” according to German Copyright Act, Section 59...

Participation in strikes that are not organized by a union (so-called “wildcat strikes”) constitute a breach of the main obligation under the employment contract and may justify extraordinary termination. This follows from a ruling by the Berlin-Brandenburg Regional Labor Court dated April 25, 2023 (Case No. 6 Sa 868/22). Facts The defendant operates a bicycle...

An economic operator whose rights are adversely affected by an incomplete RAPEX notification may request the competent authorities of the notifying member state to complete the notification. To this end, he must have a legal remedy in the notifying member state to ensure that the obligations incumbent on that member state in this respect are...

The appointment of a board member of a German stock corporation as managing director of one of its subsidiaries can be a self-dealing to which the restrictions of Section 181 alt. 1 of the German Civil Code (“BGB”) apply. This is illustrated by a decision of the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, “BGH”). Facts A...

In a decision dated March 16, 2023 (Case No. 18 Sa 832/22), the Regional Labor Court of Hamm, Germany, ruled that the termination of an additional agreement on working from home is permissible if the employer was effectively granted the right to terminate the agreement independently from the employment contract. The Case The parties dispute...

When registering a newly founded limited liability company (“GmbH”), the managing director must affirm that there are no circumstances that would disqualify him from acting as managing director. This assurance must be specific and may not contain any legal assessments of the managing director’s own. This was clarified by the decision of the Higher Regional...

The Federal Labor Court has confirmed that the entrepreneurial freedom protected by Articles 12, 14 and 2 (1) of the German Constitution (Grundgesetz, “GG”) also includes the right to determine whether certain work should continue to be carried out within the company itself or be outsourced to third-party companies – this also applies to the...

A new list of shareholders of a company must be signed and submitted by the managing directors registered in the Commercial Register and in a number authorized to represent the company. Otherwise, the register court may reject the list of shareholders. Facts The case decided by the Berlin Appellate Court (Kammergericht – “KG”) concerned the...

German companies must report their beneficial owners to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. The obligation was introduced in October 2017, initially with many exceptions. It has since been continuously tightened. Another tightening is scheduled for the middle of this year, significantly expanding the reporting obligations for foreign (= non-German) companies. Initial situation: Reporting obligation...

If the economic situation of a stock corporation deteriorates after the compensation of the executive board has been determined, the supervisory board shall reduce the total compensation of the members of the executive board to an appropriate level if the continued granting of the full compensation would be inequitable for the stock corporation. However, high...