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GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: As part of a tax audit in a doctor’s office, an account invoice document fell into the hands of the auditor in charge of the audit which indicated that agency mediation fees in the amount of 10,000 EUR had been paid; however, there was no indication as to what type of mediation such a fee was for. Since the audit examiner in charge had not received any information in regard to the fee from the respective doctor, he found out as a result of his own research that the commissions came from a company that mediated contacts between professors and students.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London grprainer.com/en explain: In its judgment of 21 March 2013 (Az. 6 U 170/12), the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court (OLG) ruled that the trademark holder is entitled to injunctive relief from the Trademark Act (MarkenG) against the shopkeeper, if said shopkeeper uses the external brand name as a component of its advertising. The defendant promoted his goods with billboards featuring the plaintiff’s brand name. In the opinion of the Court, there was a risk that potential customers might assume from this that a contractual relationship exists between the retailer and the trademark holder.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In a new decision of the BAG, it was established in recent years that holiday entitlements can also arise in an employment relationship that has been suspended for many years. However, such claims can potentially lapse after 15 months from the end of the vacation year.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explains: The intended use of a German limited liability (GmbH) does not necessarily have to be based on generating profit. A multitude of other determinations are conceivable. Lawyers, tax advisors and engineers are now also able to manage a GmbH, the so-called “freelancer-GmbH” (Freiberufler-GmbH). The fiscal authorities are also often happy to embrace the advantages of the GmbH, since they can exert influence on business notwithstanding the exclusion of liability.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: The Court of Appeal in Berlin (KG) ruled in its judgment of 17 June 2010 (Az. 12 U 51/09) that the classification of a tenancy as a residential or commercial tenancy is to be determined above all by the tenancy’s area of focus. This can then arise out of the circumstances of each individual case. An agreed contractual purpose can also potentially be decisive for the evaluation. The real intentions of the parties are also to be taken into consideration for this purpose. General tenancy law can then be applied if the tenancy serves a purpose that has no residential character.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London grprainer.com/en explain: In the view of the Federal Labour Court (BAG), a job applicant should not have a right to information regarding whether the employer has employed another applicant and according to which criteria people were hired. This view was also shared by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). A right to information for the rejected applicant also does not arise from Community law. However, the CJEU suggested in its judgment of 19 April 2012 (Az. C-415/10) that the employer’s refusal of access to information must be taken into consideration where there is evidence of facts which may constitute discrimination.

GRP Rainer Lawyers Tax Advisors, Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Bremen, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and London www.grprainer.com/en explain: In its judgment of 16 May 2012 (Az.:6 U 239/11), the Cologne OLG established that a proprietor of an internet connection should not have blanket liability for copyright breaches of their husband.

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: In such a context, nothing stands in opposition to the relinquishment of the employee except when there are individual contractual agreements which lead to a total exclusion of the existence of a relevant claim. Such a decision was issued by the German Federal Labour Court (BAG)

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: If the joint ownership of accumulated assets comes to an end, an equitable distribution of martial property must take place according to the provisions of the German Civil Code (BGB). The gain in assets is calculated to be the value amount of the final assets of the spouses which exceeds the initial value of assets held. The gain, in any case, is represented as a sum amount of money. The sum cannot be negative, and if the calculation of such a gain should be determined to be a negative amount, then a zero should be applied. Such a calculation is completed by using accounting entries of accounts.

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 classification of a lease as a residential or commercial tenancy agreement will vary especially depending on what the parties have agreed in the conclusion of the contract. This was decided by the Court of Appeal in Berlin in its judgment from June 2010 (Az. 12 U 51/09). According to that judgment, the emphasis given by the lease tenancy agreement should be decisive as to its classification. Within the framework of a review, all circumstances of an individual case should be acknowledged. If the rental of spaces follows for a purpose that does not have the character of a housing or residential space, then general tenancy law would apply.