In a landmark ruling from the US the United States District Court for the District of Delaware held that the AI company Ross Intelligence is not allowed to use content from Thomson Reuter’s legal research platform Westlaw for the purpose of training its AI-based platform. Ross Intelligence’s fair use defense failed. The court argued that Ross Intelligence’s use of the data was commercial in nature and non-transformative because the use did not have a “further purpose or character” apart from Thompson Reuters’ use. Moreover, Ross Inteligence’ intended purpose was to compete with Thompson Reuters.

Our copyright law expert, Dr. Ralph Graef, who is also admitted as an attorney-at-law in the USA, in an interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) [Download].

A serious and touching topic: on the trail of a catfish. A person who blogged under the fake identity Jule Stinkesocke as a supposedly paraplegic young woman. Jule Stinkesocke was a role model for many disabled people online, especially young disabled women. But instead, there are many indications that Jule is an older, non-disabled man. What a disappointment and a disaster for those affected.
Producing a movie like this over four episodes in a way that is unassailable under press law without taking away its “punch” and poignancy is an art form. We are pleased for all those affected, the producers and ZDF that we succeeded in doing this despite considerable headwinds in the run-up to the broadcast. 💪😊

WTF is Jule?!

‘Art, film and music as door openers’ – Dr Ralph Oliver Graef and Dr Timo Rosenkranz in the current BLS magazine.

“Film Reform in Focus – the Diversity Advisory Board”. Our annual panel with Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein on the occasion of the Hamburg Film Festival was one of the liveliest and best events in recent years. Thank you for the great moderation and the strong opinions of all participants.

Press Release GRAEF Rechtsanwälte

Coverage on gala.de

It was nice. We’ll just have to turn off the rain next year.

What started 15 years ago as a small „indie conference“ is now a landmark event in the games industry. Thank you to our friends at Super Crowd GmbH and Gamecity Hamburg, Wolf Lang and Dennis Schoubye

Andthank you to all our speakers for their great speeches
Sophie Vo
Brjann Sigurgeirsson
James Batchelor
Odile Limpach
Torsten Oppermann

Last not least thank you Elisabeth Heinisch and Altonaer Museum

Welcome to our team, Philipp Steinhübl. We look forward to lively discussions on press law, media law and entertainment law. It’s going to be a cool journey.

FOCUS Spezial 2023 recommends GRAEF Rechtsanwälte as a top law firm in the area of “Media and Press”. Our firm was “disproportionately recommended by colleagues”.

When things get complicated in terms of press law, we’re there. For freedom of the press and freedom of opinion. For the general right of personality. It’s not about winning at any price, it’s about balancing both basic rights appropriately.

Read more on FAZ.net – FAZ article as PDF

Read more on Sueddeutsche.de – SZ article as PDF

We are delighted to announce that Dr Ralph Oliver Graef has  been recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in Germany™ for his high caliber work in Entertainment Law and Prof. Dr. Christian Rauda for his high caliber work in Gaming Law (bestlawyers.com).

Inclusion in Best Lawyers is based on a rigorous peer-review survey comprising over 650,000 confidential evaluations by attorneys in Germany. For more than 40 years, Best Lawyers has been regarded as the most credible measure of legal integrity and distinction and symbolizes excellence in practice.

In 2023 brand eins and research institute Statista once again recognized GRAEF Rechtsanwälte as one of the best business law firms in Germany for the areas of “Media, Press” and “Trademarks, Industrial Designs”. In the area of “Media/Press” we were one of only seven media law firms to receive the highest rating of 4 stars, and in the area of “Trademarks, Industrial Designs” we earned a very strong rating of 3 stars. The scores are based on surveys of fellow attorneys and clients. We are thrilled about the media & entertainment industry’s appreciation of our services.

GRAEF Rechtsanwälte offers ‘excellent advice on data protection, trademark and copyright law’ and has ‘ immense expertise in media law, film, TV and video games’. Especially in relation to video games law, the practice is considered ‘one of Germany’s top boutiques‘. Ralph Oliver Graef’s team excels, among other matters, in assisting with numerous international motion picture productions and representing clients in proceedings pertaining to filming and music rights as well as copyright disputes.

It was a celebration for us. 10 years of the German Advertising Film Award. More colorful than ever. We wholeheartedly support the German advertising film producers and the Producers’ Alliance.

Gamesmarkt reports on this year’s Hamburg Games Conference.

Our highlight of the past Berlinale week: the film “Seneca”, in which Ralph Oliver Graef from our film team was involved as Associate Producer, and which had its premiere in the “Special Gala” series. As the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung rightly judged: “John Malkovich turns the dying monologue of the Roman philosopher Seneca into a stellar hour of acting.” You rock, John Malkovich.

© Filmgalerie 451 / Berlinale

Our specialist for personal rights accompaniment of film productions, Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef, at the Berlinale Moot Court. There we will discuss the possibilities and limits of fictional storytelling in the conflict between artistic freedom, personal rights and public interest.

You can meet the following companies at the Hamburg Games Conference on March 1 and 2 in Hamburg. We have many international guests, an exciting program over two days about “Invest in Games” as well as Meet2Match. Come and join us.

Amazing Maurice, based on the book from Terry Pratchett, and produced by Ulysses Filmproduktion has been selected by Sundance Film Festival 2023 and will be released in Germany this February. It was great to be part of this German-UK co-production. Thanks for the ride Ulysses, Cantilever, Sky, Narrativia et al.

We are pleased to have contributed to the handbook “Games und Recht” with our article on “Influencer Marketing and Influencer Contracts” (Ralph Oliver Graef). On more than 560 pages, there is concentrated legal know-how on the topics of publishing, marketing, business models, licenses, youth protection, data protection, copyright, employment contracts, trademark law and promotion.

FOCUS Spezial 2022 recommends GRAEF Rechtsanwälte as a top law firm in the area of “Media and Press”. Our firm was “disproportionately recommended by colleagues”.