TMT Newsletter | December 2025

Outlook

Today, the Federal Court of Justice will rule on whether credit agencies may store information on payment defaults even after the claim has been settled – and, if so, for how long (I ZR 97/25). On the same day, AG Szpunar will publish the Opinion on whether opinions on social networks are protected by copyright (Art. 2(a) of Directive 2001/29/EC, InfoSoc Directive), and whether Member States may permit the use of short extracts for non-commercial purposes beyond the limitations set out in Art. 5(3)(c) of Directive 2001/29/EC (C-598/24). Also today, the CJEU will rule on whether the transparency obligations applicable to the collection of personal data by body cameras are governed by Art. 13 GDPR or Art. 14 GDPR (AG Medina: Art. 13 GDPR) (C-422/24). Furthermore, the CJEU will decide whether a collecting society infringes Art. 102 TFEU by charging license fees for broadcasting receivers in a hotel without taking the actual room occupancy into account (AG Szpunar: no infringement) (C-161/24). On the same day, the CJEU will rule on whether a trademark (a designer's family name) should lapse after transfer if it gives the wrong impression that the transferring designer is still involved with the goods it designates (AG Emiliou: Expiring possible in case the indication of origin is lost) (C-168/24). Finally, the CJEU will decide whether, and under what conditions, designs adapted to customer-specific requirements (“customizing”) satisfy the protection requirements of “new” and “individual character” within the meaning of Art. 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 (Community Designs Regulation), and which person is to be regarded as the "designer" within the meaning of Art. 14 of Regulation (EC) No 6/2002 in these cases (AG Emiliou: protection does not require “genuine design activity” or “intellectual effort”) (C-323/24). On 15.01.2026, AG Rantos will deliver the Opinions on whether, and under what conditions, a publication on the internet must be directed at the public of a specific country in order to constitute a communication to the public within the meaning of Art. 3 InfoSoc Directive, whether geographical restrictions (geoblocking) prevent such "directing" and to whom the communication is attributable if restrictions are circumvented (e.g., via VPN) (C-788/24). On the same day, the CJEU will decide whether economic operators in the field of storage devices (i.a., manufacturer, retailer) may be required to pay private copying levies (Art. 5(2)(b) of the Copyright Directive) in case these storage devices are sold to commercial end users (C-822/24). Also on that day, the CJEU will hear a case on whether the principles set out in Art. 8(1) of the Rome II Regulation extend to the (formal) validity of a license agreement (C-176/25).

CJEU – No "rule/exception"-relation between design and copyright law

For design objects, the copyright requirement of originality is not stricter than for "purposeless" works of art. Under the InfoSoc Directive, the creative process and the author’s intentions are relevant to copyright protection only to the extent that they are perceptible in the object itself. Surrounding aspects, such as the use of existing forms and sources of inspiration, are neither required nor decisive for the assessment (C-580/23; C-795/23).

CJEU – Strict requirements for granting access to telecommunications infrastructure

Access obligations to infrastructure under Art. 72 EECC may be imposed only if there is a threat to the development of a sustainable competitive market and a risk of harm to end-users. Regulators must also assess whether the measure is necessary and proportionate. The equally important objectives in Art. 3 EECC must be taken into account (C-327/24).

CJEU – No applicability of DSA liability exemptions for platform operators in the context of GDPR responsibility

If an operator of an online marketplace is granted extensive rights over user generated content, it may qualify as a controller within the meaning of Art. 4(7) GDPR. Sensitive data must be identified and reviewed using appropriate technical measures (TOM) prior to publication, which must be rejected if there is no consent (Art. 9(2)(a) GDPR), Art. 24–26 GDPR. The liability exemptions under the E-Commerce Directive (now: under the DSA) do not affect this responsibility under data protection law (C-492/23).

CJEU – Local jurisdiction for class action lawsuits

Two Dutch foundations brought class actions against the operator of an App Store for abuse of a dominant market position for allegedly excessive commissions (Art. 102 TFEU). According to Art. 7(2) Brussels Ibis Regulation, Dutch courts have international and local jurisdiction, as the App Store is specifically designed for the Dutch market (C-34/24).

EGC – Intel fine significantly reduced

While the EGC upheld the legality and proportionality of the fine imposed by the EUCOM for abusing a dominant position on the market for x86 processors. However, the court exercised its unlimited jurisdiction (Art. 261 TFEU, Art. 31 of Regulation (EC) No 1/2003) and reduced the fine to approximately EUR 237 million (T-1129/23).

German Federal Constitutional Court – House raid based on posted archive link violates freedom of broadcasting

Raiding the home of a radio editor who linked to the archive page of a banned association is unconstitutional. Providing such a link does not constitute "sufficient and plausible grounds" for a suspicion of supporting a banned association (Section 85(1), Sentence 1, No. 2 and (2) German Criminal Code). The house raid violates freedom of broadcasting (Article 5(1) sentence 2 German Basic Law), which also protects private workspaces (1 BvR 259/24).

German Federal Court of Justice – No copyright protection for movie character "Miss Moneypenny"

The name of a fictional character may be protected under copyright law. However, such character must exhibit a sufficient degree of independence and must be distinctly recognizable independently of the underlying work. This is not the case with the movie character “Miss Moneypenny” in relation to the "James Bond" movie series (press release of 04.12.25; I ZR 219/24).

Higher Regional Court of Hamburg – Opt-outs for machine learning in natural language are invalid

The court largely confirmed the lower court's opinion: It is not possible to reserve usage rights for the use of a work for scientific purposes under Section 60d UrhG. However, there is an opt-out for commercial text and data mining under Section 44b UrhG, provided the opt-out is declared in a machine-readable form. The court allowed the final appeal to the Federal Court of Justice (5 U 104/24).

Regional Court of Lübeck – Unlawful data processing through business tools

Advertisers use so-called business tools that transmit data related to the use of social networks when websites are accessed. Affected users may seek injunction of the data processing solely under Sections 1004(1) sentence 2 analogously, 823(1) German Civil Code, Art. 2(1) German Basic Law, but not under the GDPR (likewise CJEU C-655/23). The court recognizes a risk of infringement (and repetition of infringement) based on the fact that business tools are used on a mass scale (15 O 15/24, not yet final and binding).

Regional Court of Berlin II – Freedom of the press protects the unfiltered reproduction of political statements

If media services merely reproduce an actual statement of a politician and do not express a suspicion of their own, the principles of "reporting on suspicion" (Verdachtsberichtserstattung) do not apply. Strict obligations to verify would violate Art. 5(1), (2) German Basic Law and Art. 10(2) ECHR if media services depict political events in an unfiltered and complete manner. This corresponds to the ECHR’s approach (48311/10) (press release of 19.11.25; 27 O 362/25 eV, not yet final and binding).

Administrative Court of Düsseldorf – Internet access providers are – for the time being – not obliged to block pornographic websites

This is due to the CJEU decision C-376/22, which states that other Member States may only impose additional requirements on the provision of services if they relate to 'a given information society service', deviating from the country of origin principle. Section 4 JMStV, however, applies to all telemedia providers. Prohibition orders against providers themselves remain enforceable (press release of 19.11.2025; 27 L 805/24, 27 L 806/24, 27 L 1347/24, 27 L 1348/24, 27 L 1349/24, 27 L 1350/24, not yet final and binding).