Advertising in Germany is subject to strict legal regulations, primarily governed by competition law, trademark law, and copyright law. Companies and advertising agencies must ensure they comply with these rules to avoid warnings, lawsuits, or fines.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of the key aspects that must be considered when advertising in Germany and highlights potential risks for advertising agencies and companies.
Competition law in Germany regulates the behavior of companies in the economic market, ensuring that competition is fair and free from unfair business practices, protecting consumers, competitors, and the public. The foundation of German competition law is the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), which prohibits certain behaviors that are considered unfair and harmful to market competition.
Germany, being one of the largest economies in Europe, has a robust legal framework governing software development and distribution. Understanding the legal issues surrounding software in this jurisdiction is crucial for developers, companies, and distributors working with software in the German market. Drawing on recent blog posts, this article aims to provide an overview of Germany’s software law, focusing on recurring legal problems faced by companies.
Hackbacks, also known as “active cyber defense,” involve measures where a cyber attack on IT systems is actively countered by attacking the target system of the attacker. The goal of a hackback is to stop the original attacker, restore data, or prevent further damage. This can involve infiltrating the attacker’s IT infrastructure, deleting malicious software, or even physically impairing hardware.
Greenwashing, the act of making misleading claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or corporate practices, poses significant legal risks for companies operating in the European Union (EU) and Germany. Both regions have stringent laws that prohibit such deceptive practices under competition law, and there are even scenarios where criminal liability may arise. This article outlines the current legal framework, enforcement mechanisms, and recent judicial developments, emphasizing the importance of compliance to avoid severe penalties.
The use of generative AI models like ChatGPT, DALL-E, or Stable Diffusion has increased tremendously in recent years. These models can generate creative content based on user instructions, such as texts, images, or music. This capability for autonomous creativity is based on the fact that the AI models have “learned” from large datasets how to create such content. A significant portion of these datasets is protected by copyright, leading to substantial legal challenges.
In Germany, the protection of trade secrets is governed by the German Trade Secrets Act (GeschGehG), which was enacted in 2019 to implement the EU Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information against unlawful acquisition, use, and disclosure.
This directive aims to harmonize the protection of trade secrets across the European Union, setting clear standards and requirements for companies. Before the implementation of the GeschGehG, the protection of trade secrets in Germany was primarily covered under §§ 17-19 of the Unfair Competition Act (UWG). The new law provides clearer guidelines and expands the scope of protection, particularly by defining what constitutes a trade secret and what actions companies must take to secure these protections.
As environmental compliance becomes increasingly crucial for companies operating in Germany and the EU, understanding the regulations and potential penalties associated with environmental laws is essential. The German Federal Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt, UBA) plays a significant role in enforcing environmental regulations, including the Battery Act (Batteriegesetz, BattG) and the Electrical and Electronic Equipment Act (ElektroG). Non-compliance can result in substantial fines and legal consequences that can affect a company’s operations and reputation.
This article provides an overview of the fines imposed by the UBA for violations of these specific laws and highlights key considerations for businesses to maintain compliance.
The term “AI washing” (also known as “AI washing”) refers to a practice whereby companies and organizations describe or market their products, services or projects as artificial intelligence (AI), even though this description is either misleading or greatly exaggerated. This shows that exaggerated advertising of AI products in the course of AI washing can result in tangible criminal liability.
Implementation of the NIS2 Directive in Germany: There are now draft laws on the implementation of the NIS2 Directive in Germany, and a clear line can be seen. In Germany, the NIS2 Directive is implemented by the “Act on the Implementation of the NIS-2 Directive and on the Regulation of Essential Principles of Information Security Management in the Federal Administration”. It is also known as the “NIS-2 Implementation and Cybersecurity Strengthening Act” or “NIS2UmsuCG” for short.
At the heart of it all is the German “BSI Act”: this law was originally created to regulate the competencies and measures of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). However, this law is increasingly being transformed into a set of cyber security regulations. This was already foreseeable with the German IT Security Act and has been enhanced with the IT Security Act 2.0. IT security in Germany – and Europe – is thus being raised to a completely new level and the economy in particular will have to dress warmly.
Note on the current status of the legislative process: The NIS2 Directive must actually be implemented by mid-October. However, draft bills have only been available since May 2024, which already raises doubts as to whether this will happen in time. With this in mind, a paragraph has been added on what delayed implementation means. The article has been updated to the status of the second draft bill (processing status: 24.06.2024).
