Intellectual Property | IP

In episode 54 of our sports law podcast “Liebling Bosman”, we examine the trademark dispute surrounding darts player Justin Hood and his nickname “Happy Feet”. We also discuss the CAS proceedings in the case of Senegal v the African Football Confederation (CAF) in connection with the decision to award Morocco the Africa Cup of Nations title by default, and assess the liability issues surrounding Noa Lang’s injury in the match between Galatasaray and Liverpool. Finally, we take a look at the latest developments regarding stadium bans in Germany and provide an update on the regional league reform.

In episode 42 of the Data Navigator podcast, we speak to Dominik Ebeling (Head of Data Governance, Rolls-Royce Power Systems) about whether and how trade secrets might be embedded in IoT sensor data – and what this means in terms of the requirements under the Data Act. Specifically, we cover: - striking the right balance between data access and innovation protection, - the fridge example: how a product’s control logic can be deduced from a temperature-time series, - reverse engineering via data versus via hardware: why the effort involved is a crucial protective factor, - a practical categorisation of sensor data into four levels – from environmental variables to the protected core of innovation. - figures: at least two-thirds of sensor data is completely uncritical for disclosure – says the engine manufacturer and - the Omnibus, the Federal Network Agency and the call not to abandon the compromise between data sharing and the protection of trade secrets.

Advertising, brands, AI, public viewing: what is allowed? The 2026 FIFA World Cup offers companies plenty of opportunities for creative marketing campaigns, competitions, social media campaigns and public viewing events. At the same time, the legal boundaries are narrow: FIFA’s trademark rights, players’ personal rights, ambush marketing, AI-generated advertising and licensing issues relating to public viewing should be considered at an early stage. Our handout provides a concise overview of what is permitted in advertising in the context of the 2026 World Cup and where legal risks lie.

Update on the article "Do you hear the same?": On 9 March, GEMA and the US company Suno Inc. had their first exchange of blows at Munich Regional Court I on the question of the extent to which AI-generated music infringes the rights of authors of protected musical works.

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has ruled that the name of the well-known James Bond film character "Miss Moneypenny" does not enjoy work title protection (judgement of 4 December 2025 - I ZR 219/24). This means that third parties may use the name "Moneypenny" for their own services without infringing rights under the work title protection.

The European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) has cancelled several AfD word and figurative marks - including the party logo and the abbreviation "AfD". The reason for this is the lack of serious use of the trade marks over a period of five years. This means that the party will lose trade mark protection at EU level for all registered goods and services if the decision becomes legally binding. The proceedings show: Anyone who does not demonstrably use trade marks in the course of trade risks their complete revocation.

An analysis and classification of US court rulings on AI training data.

Digitalisation and, in particular, the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) pose new challenges for copyright law. On 11 November 2025, the 42nd Civil Chamber of the Regional Court of Munich I, which specialises in copyright law, issued a landmark ruling in the case "GEMA v. OpenAI". It thus strengthens the position of authors vis-à-vis AI providers and obliges OpenAI to cease and desist and potentially pay damages for the use of copyrighted song lyrics in the training and operation of its language models. The judgement is not legally binding, but has a signal effect for the entire industry