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Copyright Law

Copyright law is currently in the throes of substantial upheaval. Knowing the scope of rights of use and their specific content is of vital significance, not just to private users but in business dealings as well. Most intellectual achievements can be digitised these days, whilst forms of use are quickly multiplying at the same time – the upshot being that the established copyright system is rapidly proving inadequate. These days, digital radio and TV and copyright works on the Internet are just as much part of a copyright lawyer’s routine tasks as traditional license agreements for software engineers, musicians and artists in all walks of life.

Legislation on copyrights has been altered radically in recent years both in Germany and beyond, for instance by implementing various EU Directives and introducing the Law on Copyright Contracts. This had had a huge impact on the legal position of authors, exploiters and consumers alike, something that is meanwhile reflected both in the wording of contracts and in the copyright infringement cases that get taken to court.

Using property that is protected by copyright without permission to do so is meanwhile a mass offence. No matter whether an infringement of copyright is done unintentionally, or due to a lack of sense of right or wrong, or deliberately to gain some illegal advantage –  litigation is frequently unavoidable if a copyright is to be asserted. And particularly in the fringe area where permissible usage borders on an infringement of rights, special expertise is required.

International aspects are frequently involved as well. Global dealings – not only through the Internet – with property that is protected by copyright frequently give rise to cross-border legal disputes. We can give you all-round advice aimed at safeguarding your rights both at home and abroad.

Exactly how rights of use are granted is something that has to be taken into account not only in conventional licenses, but also in a whole series of other agreements as well. Designing websites, drafting ASP contracts, incorporating databases – they all call for provisions on copyright that may well decide the quality of the entire contractual set-up. Exploiting works in the Internet opens up whole new distribution channels, each of which poses new legal problems. Our job is to draw up an agreement for you that is absolutely clear, safeguards your interests, and is adapted to your own particular circumstances.

More and more free licenses are to be found these days, not just for open source software but also for more conventional works provided for use under Creative Commons licenses. Anyone considering either model needs to be aware though that they both involve very intricate legal problems – problems on which we will be pleased to advise you.