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GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London UK www.grprainer.com/en explain: Multiple voting rights granted pursuant to the articles of association of a public limited partnership to the general partner that also allow for change to the articles of association are not, in the view of the Regional Court of Freiburg (LG), valid (Az.: 12 O 133/12). In the instant case, the articles of association of a public limited partnership contained a clause which granted the general partner multiple voting rights. According to this, the general partner, who did not partake in the profit and loss of the partnership but instead received remuneration independent of these factors, was also entitled to multiple voting rights with respect to resolutions to change the articles of association. The investors brought an action against these provisions and the Court has now found in their favour.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en conclude: The tax advantages investors have come to expect will materialize only at the end of their investment period. Yet often, investors can face the problem that the disparity will show only at the end of the investment term. Quite often, investors are surprised when they realize that taxes can be demanded retroactively.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en conclude: According to the Copyright Act’s general principle of creativity, which is enshrined in section 7, Copyright Act, the ownership of a film’s copyright depends on whether the “person” whose copyright is in question has made a creative contribution to the film. Such a contribution exists, for example, when it reflects a personal intellectual creation.

It may be necessary to obtain a certificate of inheritance even though a sole heir has a power of attorney with postmortal effect.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London – www.grprainer.com/en conclude: This is how the Superior Court of Stuttgart is said to have ruled recently (File No. 2 U 157/12). To market its dairy products, a dairy company was said to have used the name of a region although the milk was not processed in that area at all. The court called that behaviour misleading for consumers, who would be forming an incorrect notion about the origin of the milk. If the name of a certain region appears on a food product, especially on an agricultural product, consumers can assume that the products have a direct connection with that region. The court said that the effect on consumers was even more deceiving because the term “fresh milk” was used. It found that with such a constellation, it would not be far-fetched to assume that customers believe the article to be produced in the named region.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London – http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: If the assignee is given “only” an authority to collect, he must claim the accounts receivable in someone else’s name. A collection assignment is the complete assignment of the accounts receivable where the assignee is regarded as the new creditor of the debt. After assignment, he is therefore in the justified position to collect the receivables. However, the assignee is not authorized to dispose of the receivables, since a trustee relationship exists between him and the assignor. On that basis, he assignee has more legal authority toward the outside than toward the inside.

GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London –http://www.grprainer.com/en conclude: The testamentary capacity of persons with conditions affecting their cognitive abilities is a question recently dealt with by the Superior Court [Oberlandesgericht/OLG] of Munich (File No. 31 Wx 266/12). The case concerned the testamentary capacity of a testatrix suffering from Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease with progressive dementia. She had drawn up several wills. A year before her death, she had made her son her sole heir by signing a notarized will.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: The Regional Labour Court of Hamm (LAG) ruled in its judgment of July 24, 2013 (Az.: 3 Sa 1749/12) that an employment relationship exists with the host business despite an employee being transferred on the basis of a services framework agreement if the employee is integrated into the business and the supplying company does not possess the necessary authority for the transfer of employees.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: The Court explained in its reasoning to the, not yet binding, judgment that it essentially depends on the interests of the parties involved whether the private video recording could be used as evidence. The conflicting interests must be weighed up. In the instant case, it could be permissibly used because the video recording was meant solely for private interests at the time of recording and therefore no particular purpose was being pursued.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Dusseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg and Stuttgart www.grprainer.com/en explain: The Regional Labour Court of Baden-Württemberg ((Landesarbeitsgericht) LAG) had to rule on a case (Az.: 2 Sa 6/13) concerning the demarcation between a contract to produce a work and the temporary provision of labour. Both claimants worked as independent contractors in an IT systems house and were deployed over ten years in the defendant’s business within the framework of a contract to produce a work. In the view of the claimants, an employment relationship arose from the circumstances of the instant case, namely that they were integrated into the defendant’s business and acted in accordance with their directions. While the court of first instance dismissed the claims, the Regional Labour Court has now found in favour of the claimants.