IT projects

When does inspiration become unauthorised imitation? And how far does legal protection for fashion and design extend? In the webinar ‘Fashion meets Law – Who owns the look?’, Fabian Reinholz and Claudia-Maria Wallaschofski from HÄRTING, together with Ulrike Wollenschläger from TextilWirtschaft, will examine current issues in trade mark, copyright and design law – using fascinating case studies from the fashion industry.

The Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia has ruled that companies cannot themselves challenge the registration of qualified trade associations with the Federal Office of Justice in court. What does this mean for companies facing claims from organisations that issue warning letters?

Years after the payment of Covid-19 support, numerous businesses and self-employed people are facing demands for repayment. Jermaine Taylor speaks to Dr Martin Schirmbacher and Carl Nowak about unclear eligibility criteria, recent case law and the legal options available to those affected.

In episode 198 of “Follow the Rechtsstaat”, Prof. Niko Härting and Dr Stefan Brink discuss the planned data retention scheme, data protection breaches involving Snapchat’s “My AI” chatbot, and the seizure of journalistic materials in connection with the Hamburg Block trial.

A ticket in exchange for helping out? When do volunteers at festivals become employees – and how can organisers avoid liability risks with a hybrid model?

Series of articles on Regulation 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising (TTPW) Regulation 2024/900 on the transparency and targeting of political advertising (TTPW) has been in force. With the TTPW, the European legislator aims to prevent the dishonest influencing of political decisions. The rationale behind the TTPW is undoubtedly an important one: political advertising interferes with legislative processes and electoral decisions. Where this takes the form of disinformation, it can be highly problematic. However, the TTPW goes further and places political advertising as such under general suspicion. This regulatory flaw must always be borne in mind when applying the TTPW. The provisions of the TTPW are complex. This is likely one of the reasons why the Commission has published guidance on the implementation of the TTPW. Similar to other European regulatory regimes, the TTPW also provides for sanctions which apply in addition to other sanction regimes, in particular those of the GDPR. The national data protection supervisory authorities are responsible for enforcing the TTPW. Presumably due to its proximity to ‘political Berlin’, the Data Protection Conference has agreed that, in Germany, the Berlin supervisory authority will take the lead in dealing with the TTPW. The first proceedings are already underway, including those in which we are involved. In this series of articles, we will present selected legal issues relating to the TTPW and provide initial answers to the numerous legal questions arising from the application of the Regulation.

Data protection requirements are constantly evolving. This commentary on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG) offers practical and well-founded guidance on how to deal with the complex requirements of data protection law. The 4th edition (2026) takes account of the latest legislative developments, particularly in relation to digital services, artificial intelligence and the European Health Data Space. The latest case law, particularly that of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), as well as recent statements from data protection supervisory authorities, have also been incorporated into the commentary. The commentary combines academic rigour with practical solutions, thereby offering valuable guidance on the legally compliant processing of personal data in businesses, public authorities and legal practice. The contributors also include Sebastian Schulz and Erik Petersen of HÄRTING, who, in the 4th edition, have for the first time taken on the commentary on Article 9 of the GDPR concerning the processing of special categories of personal data.

A modern commercial aircraft records tens of thousands of parameters. But who has access to this data, and what implications does the European Data Act have for airlines? In episode 51 of the Data Navigator, Dr Martin Schirmbacher and Dr Hubertus von Roenne speak to **Dr Nima Barraci**, who has been working in the aviation industry for 25 years and is responsible for Group Data Strategy at the Lufthansa Group. Access to aircraft data is of great importance to airlines. After all, whoever has access to the data largely determines when components are replaced, where they are serviced and at which locations spare parts are stocked. Nima explains why airlines have so far been unable to do much to counter the duopoly of aircraft manufacturers, and what transparency the Data Act has already brought about. This also touches on the protection of trade secrets and the question of the extent to which this argument can restrict access to data. Nima explains why he has not yet been convinced by the invocation of trade secrets. The three also discuss the importance of internal communication as a key to success, the trend towards so-called ‘on-device computation’ and the associated risk that access to data could become more difficult again in future. Finally, they discuss Nima’s wish for policymakers: to give the Data Act time to take effect.

In the latest instalment of our special series marking 30 years of HÄRTING, we are joined by a familiar face: Marlene Schreiber, partner in the IT team and Head of AI at HÄRTING. Together with Dr Martin Schirmbacher and Carl Nowak, she discusses how companies can use artificial intelligence in a legally compliant manner and why the AI Act covers only part of the legal challenges involved. The starting point is the AI Officer training programme that Marlene and Martin run in collaboration with Blackboat. After all, anyone using AI within a company must take far more into account than just the AI Regulation: data protection, copyright, employment law, liability issues and effective AI governance also play a key role. The episode focuses on two particularly practical topics: **high-risk AI and transparency obligations under the AI Act.** When is an AI system classified as high-risk? What specific considerations apply, for example, when using AI in recruitment processes or in the education sector? And what organisational measures must companies put in place? The episode also addresses the labelling of AI-generated content. Not every piece of AI-generated text needs to be labelled. However, special transparency requirements apply to deepfakes and certain types of synthetic audio and video content. Using examples from radio advertising and e-commerce, the three discuss how sensible and practicable these obligations are. An episode on the challenges of AI regulation, unresolved legal issues and the practical implementation of the AI Act within companies.