Lars Thiess

Senior Associate

Germany

I started here as a student during the early years of my studies and since then I have grown and developed both personally and legally. I have been consistently impressed by the law firm and its unique atmosphere. As a sports fan, I see a particular need for advice in the ever growing field of eSports law – not only for players and teams, but also for their contractual partners and sponsors.

Focus Competition Law Intellectual Property Rights IT Law Litigation Brands & Design Competition & Advertising Court Proceedings Entertainment Gaming & Esports Sports law

Languages of correspondence

English, German

Contact information

Email thiess@haerting.de

Phone +49 30 28305740

Vita

Born and raised in Berlin, Lars Thiess graduated from the Free University of Berlin with the blood of the capital in his veins. He joined HÄRTING in 2009 and after his first state examination he worked full-time in our firm for several years. He completed his legal clerkship in Berlin and Dublin. As a lawyer, he has been part of the litigation team since 2018 and also advises on sports and event law.

Latest insights

Palworld – That is Pokémon, isn’t it?

5. February 2024
by Paul Zschommler & Lars Thiess

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.

Legal Dance-Off: Epic Games’ Copyright-Misstep

5. January 2024
by Lars Thiess & Vitorio Dimov

Fortnite dance problematic in terms of copyright?

Geoblocking cartel at Steam – Valve may not restrict low prices

17. October 2023
by Lars Thiess

The geoblocking mechanisms used by Valve, the operator of the "Steam" platform, and several publishers on Steam constitute an impermissible restriction of the free internal market. At least, that is how the Court of Justice of the European Union (EuG) saw it, demonstrating that geoblocking is not completely free in the EU. In particular, the ECJ clarified that the protection of copyrights cannot per se lead to admissibility

Newsoutlet 0, AdBlocker 2: Ad blockers do not violate copyright law

19. September 2023
by Lars Thiess

In the second instance, the Higher Regional Court of Hamburg has confirmed that the offer of an ad blocker does not infringe the copyrights of website operators. The subject of the lawsuit was the "AdBlock Plus" offer by the manufacturer Eyeo, in which Axel Springer SE saw an infringement of its copyrights on several websites.

FTC vs. Epic Games: Illegal Dark Patterns?

8. February 2023
by Vitorio Dimov & Lars Thiess

Last December, a report brought the gaming world further into the mainstream: The developer of the popular battle royale "Fortnite", Epic Games, and the US Federal Trade Commission reached a record-breaking settlement of USD 520 million (approx. EUR 473 million) in a legal dispute.

§ 421 ZPO- Or: how do I succeed in providing evidence by means of documents to the opponent? (EN)

18. February 2022
by Lars Thiess

The principle of production is one of the elementary procedural maxims in civil proceedings. According to this principle, it is the task of each individual party to present and prove the facts that are favourable to him or her. What I claim, I must therefore also be able to prove in an emergency.

All insights by Lars Thiess