GERD – The alumni magazine of Bucerius Law School
‘Art, film and music as door openers’ – Dr Ralph Oliver Graef and Dr Timo Rosenkranz in the current BLS magazine.
2025
Best Lawyers® Germany 2024
The best lawyers know who the best lawyers are. According to this peer review principle, the US publisher Best Lawyers, together with the reknown magazine Handelsblatt, awards the best lawyers in Germany based on the ratings of colleagues. Now, for the first time, the best commercial law firms in Germany have also been identified for 2024. We are delighted that GRAEF Rechtsanwälte has been recognized in the fields of Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property Law (www.bestlaywers.com).
2024
Filmfest Hamburg
“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.
Statement for Charlotte Link and the publishing group Penguin Random House/Blanvalet
Best Lawyers® Germany 2024
The US publisher Best Lawyers has once again worked with Handelsblatt to identify the best commercial lawyers in Germany for 2024. We are delighted that Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef has once again been recognized in the field of Entertainment Law (www.bestlaywers.com).
„FOCUS Spezial 2024: Über 1000 Top-Anwälte“
FOCUS Spezial 2024 recommends our law firm as a top law firm in the areas of media and press.
Charlotte Link puts an end to speculations
MOIN Filmförderung Mittsommerfest 2024 powered by GRAEF Rechtsanwälte
It was nice. We’ll just have to turn off the rain next year.
Recognition brand eins 2024
brand eins once again selects the best law firms in Germany for media law, press law and trademark law, and GRAEF Rechtsanwälte is once again in the front row in 2024. Thank you for your trust.
Media Law International 2024
Media Law International ranks our firm in TIER 2 as follows: “GRAEF is one of the top law firms for entertainment law, media law and IP law. It focuses on clients from the film and television, book publishing, computer games, and live entertainment industries, and has an outstanding reputation for representing public figures and companies in the area of libel & slander. Managed by Ralph Oliver Graef, the firm has exceptional experience in the financing and production of national and international films and tv series, as well as the vetting of scripts and manuscripts. Additional specialties include the right to freedom of expression, litigation PR and data protection. Clients praise the team for its top-notch legal advice, its hands-on approach and its exceptionally high success rate in court.”
Discussion by Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef on the OLG Cologne decision of 26.01.2024 (GRUR-RS 2024, 1143 – “Birkenstock”-Sandalen)
The decision deals with the requirements of the concept of a work of applied art and the distinction from design law; the case in question involved “Birkenstock” sandals. The background to the current proceedings concerning “Birkenstock” sandals before the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg and the Higher Regional Court of Cologne, and their diametrically opposed decisions in the instances, show how important it is to establish a uniform concept of work under European law. In particular, if objects were purely functional in their product history, copyright protection must be correctly denied.
Hamburg Games Conference 2024 powered by GRAEF Rechtsanwälte.
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
Philipp Steinhübl joins GRAEF Rechtsanwälte
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.
2023
Discussion by Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef on the BGH decision GRUR-Prax 2023, 682 – The right to no longer be a victim).
The background to this was a 2018 ZDF film about abducted children. This shed light on two abduction cases from the perspective of a journalist involved in the liberations. ZDF also reported on the abduction of the then eight-year-old plaintiff, which ended with her release after a ransom was paid, mentioning her birth name. To illustrate this, ZDF used two photos of the plaintiff, which her parents had made available to the investigating authorities for a public search. In addition, the cover page of a magazine was shown on which the plaintiff was pictured with her mother after her release. The Federal Court of Justice sets the duty of care of the press to obtain consent to use the images extremely high – even more than 30 years after the crimes. Too high, in the opinion of Dr. Ralph Oliver Graef.
FOCUS Special 2023: “1000 Top Lawyers”
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”.
Hyphen corrects report about Ahmad Mansour
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
Best Lawyers® Germany 2024
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.
Recognition from brand eins
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.
German Advertising Film Award
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.
Hamburg Games Conference 2023
Gamesmarkt reports on this year’s Hamburg Games Conference.
“Seneca”
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.
Berlinale Webinar | Moot Court Competition Media Law
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.
Hamburg Games Conference
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
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.
2022
Handbook “Games und Recht”
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 Special 2022: “1000 Top Lawyers”
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”.
Filmfest Hamburg – All you need is law on 04.10.2022
As part of the Hamburg Film Festival, the following panel discussion will take place in the CinemaxX Dammtor on October 4, 2022 as part of the “All you need is Law” event series organized by MOIN Filmförder in cooperation with the media law firms GRAEF, UNVERZAGT and VON HAVE FEY:
Heads or tails: spoiled for choice?
Tax Credit vs. Investment Obligation
In the coalition agreement of the traffic light government, both models are equivalent. There are differences: Are tax incentive models the push the film industry needs or should the major streaming platforms be obliged to invest more in the German film market? Or is the solution perhaps somewhere in the middle? In short keynote speeches, Anne Baumgärtel from Deloitte and Klaus Goldhammer from Goldmedia provide an insight into the two models. While Baumgärtel discusses the advantages of the tax credits model, Goldhammer presents the results of his “platform study”, which supports the introduction of an investment obligation. Katharina Hiersemenzel (Constantin Film), Christian Sommer (Motion Picture Association) and Malte Grunert (Amusement Park Films) will then discuss. Ulrich Höcherl, publisher and editor-in-chief of Blickpunkt:Film (media partner), will moderate the event.
Series Lab 2022
We are happy to support Series Lab Hamburg where 20 European producer-writer-teams with a TV drama series in development come together for script consultancies, networking and one-on-ones with international financiers. Series Lab is supported by ZDF Studios, Sky Deutschland, GRAEF Rechtsanwälte et. al.
Award by brandeins
We did it again… GRAEF Rechtsanwälte was named one of Germany’s best commercial law firms in the areas of media & press law and trademark law.