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'Ad Blocking Is Not Piracy' Decision Overturned by Top German Court


Legal action by publisher Axel Springer, which aims to outlaw ad blocking on copyright grounds, has been revived by Germany's top court.

Eyeo dismissed the claim as “almost absurd” and in January 2022 the Hamburg Regional Court denied Springer’s request for an injunction, ruling that there was no unauthorized copying or reworking of copyrighted computer programs as defined under local law. 3 UrhG, a piece of software (‘computer program’) is afforded protection under copyright law if it “represents an individual work to the extent that it is the result of the author’s own intellectual creation.” Lubberger Lehment, the law firm acting for Axel Springer, highlights a technical aspect mentioned in the BGH decision which it believes warrants much closer attention.

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