Skinshop vs. Google – The DSA in practice

GEMA sues Suno Inc's AI music tool for unauthorised processing of protected musical works.
The early-year success of Palworld has long since waned. The hype surrounding the video game has subsided, and player numbers are far from setting new records. Just as the developer Pocketpair was about to launch the game on the PS5, a long-anticipated lawsuit from Nintendo and The Pokémon Company arrived. Time to take a closer look at the legal dispute.
The CJEU ruled, in response to questions referred by the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH), that the Action Replay software for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) likely does not constitute copyright infringement. The case, initiated by Sony against the third-party provider Datel, centered on whether the modification of game elements, such as unlocking additional content, infringes Sony's protected copyrights. This ruling has far-reaching implications for the digital space and may impact the use of mods and similar tools in other software sectors as well.
The Hamburg Regional Court, in the so-called Laion case, has become the first German court to rule on whether copyright is infringed when training artificial intelligence (AI). It has dismissed the lawsuit of a photographer, ruling that the use of his photo is justified under the text and data mining exception outlined in § 60d of the German Copyright Act (UrhG).
Even in times of the "eSports Winter," the gaming industry continues to grow steadily and has become one of the largest entertainment media in the world. Last year alone, the industry's revenue in Germany rose to nearly 10 billion euros. Innovative game concepts and unique game designs are crucial for the success of video games. The competition for media attention and players is fierce. It is not uncommon for basic concepts and game ideas of successful games to be adopted by competitors to offer similar games and benefit from the hype of the original game. It is therefore not surprising that legal proceedings in the industry are also increasing. The Cologne Regional Court recently dealt comprehensively with the copyright protection of game concepts and the limits of imitation.
Thanks to the Madrid Agreement concerning the international registration of trade marks, a single application can be filed to obtain international protection for a national or EU trade mark that has already been applied for or registered in the other member states of the Agreement. This now applies to 130 countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Qatar has now also officially joined the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The computer game Palworld from the Japanese developer studio Pocket Pair was released less than a month ago and has since been the subject of numerous accusations of plagiarism, particularly in social media. The accusation from users is that Palworld is a Pokémon clone that makes illegal use of the Pokémon Company's ideas and intellectual property.
Fortnite dance problematic in terms of copyright?
The US Copyright Office recently ruled again that artworks created by artificial intelligence are not protected by copyright, upholding its practice of not registering AI-generated art as a copyright work.
The most important information on trade mark registration in the US
A number of exciting questions arise in trademark law in connection with the increased use of trademarks in virtual spaces.