Kategorie: Politics Law Society

GDPR violations met with a heavy fine from Bremen“s data protection commissioner The Bremer Landesbeauftragte für Datenschutz und Informationsfreiheit (LfDI) – Bremen“s Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information – has issued a housing association with a fine in response to violations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). One of the aims of the Regulation is to strengthen the protection of sensitive personal information by requiring businesses to comply with more demanding data protection standards, with violations of the GDPR potentially leading to severe penalties. We at…

Marc Klaas at MTR Rechtsanwälte ranked among Germany“s top M&A lawyers in 2022 MTR Rechtsanwälte“s very own Marc Klaas has once again been recognized by the German business newspaper Handelsblatt as one of Germany“s top lawyers in the field of mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Handelsblatt collaborates with the U.S. publisher Best Lawyers to produce annual rankings of Germany“s best lawyers. The 2022 edition sees Marc Klaas at MTR Rechtsanwälte listed among the top M&A lawyers, an honor that Marc is not unfamiliar with, having been recognized as one of Germany“s…

OLG Hamburg finds advertisement featuring superlative language such as „highest price“ unlawful Advertisements that make reference to the „best price“ or which make use of similar superlative language may be misleading and in breach of competition law. That was the takeaway from a ruling of the Oberlandesgericht (OLG) Hamburg – the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg – from December 9, 2021 (case ref.: 5 U 180/20). Though advertising is one of the main ways in which businesses market their products and services and present them in a favorable light, caution…

A major milestone on the road towards a European unitary patent The German government’s ratification of the Protocol on the Provisional Application of the UPC Agreement represents a major milestone on the road towards a Unified Patent Court. The European unitary patent is intended to simplify patent law within the European Union, potentially saving businesses time and money. We at the commercial law firm MTR Rechtsanwälte note that this will be achieved through any holder of a European patent being able to apply for unitary effect by submitting a single…

Federal Constitutional Court rejects requests for an injunction against the Unified Patent Court Act A ruling from June 23, 2021 by the Bundesverfassungsgericht – Germany“s Federal Constitutional Court – saw the Court reject two petitions for a preliminary injunction directed against the Act that was adopted for the purposes of ratifying the EU Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (case ref. 2 BvR 2216/20 and 2 BvR 2217/20). The European unitary patent is intended to simplify patent law within the EU, saving companies time and money. But despite the fundamental…

BFH rules on how to determine typical market rates for intra-group loans The Bundesfinanzhof (BFH) – Germany“s Federal Fiscal Court – ruled on May 18, 2021 that the preferred method for determining whether the interest rate on an intra-group loan reflects the typical market rate is to compare prices (case ref.: I R 4/17). If a company loans money to another company that is part of the same corporate group, the interest rate may be used to shift profits from one group member to a sister company. If both foreign…

Annual general meetings and other shareholder“s meetings can still be held virtually Following a resolution by the Bundestag – Germany“s lower house of parliament – general shareholder“s meetings can continue to be conducted virtually until August 31, 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a measure that is intended to provide planning certainty. The German government decided back in 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that general meetings could also be held virtually, thus ensuring that companies retain the capacity to act and make decisions. We at the commercial…

Pandora Papers: Voluntary declaration for tax evasion can lead to exemption from punishment Ever since the Pandora Papers were released back in 2021, the tax evaders exposed by the leak have been counting the days until their discovery by the authorities. In Germany, it remains possible to submit a voluntary declaration in order to avoid penalties. The Pandora Papers represent the latest major tax haven leak since the Panama Papers were published in 2016. Almost 12 million documents were passed on anonymously to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).…

Voluntary declaration for tax evasion still possible despite the exchange of financial data with Turkey As part of the ongoing fight against tax evasion, the German tax authorities can expect to receive information regarding foreign accounts at the end of September, with the country of Turkey having signed up for the first time last year. And yet it is still possible to submit a voluntary declaration. Financial data is routinely shared among the participating countries in late September within the framework of the automatic exchange of information (AEOI). More than…

BFH: Capital gains attributable to home office remain tax-exempt The capital gains generated from the sale of an owner-occupied property that are attributable to a home office are tax-exempt. That was the verdict of the Bundesfinanzhof (BFH), Germany“s Federal Fiscal Court (case ref.: IX R 27/19). We at the commercial law firm MTR Rechtsanwälte can report that in instances where a property which was used for personal residential purposes is sold, the capital gains do not usually have to be taxed. This is also true for the portion of the…