German Copyright Reforms

Kai Tumbrägel and Saskia Lais of DLA Piper review the recent changes to German copyright law

A second glance at the Act

In September 2003 the first stage of a reform of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) came into effect. Due to the changing requirements caused by the progress of technology, especially regarding digital communications, the German government worked on a second draft law concerning the reform of the German Copyright Act which was first published in March 2006. Following the mandatory legislative procedure this draft law passed through several readings in the legal committee, was partially amended, then consented to by the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) on 21 September 2007 and finally announced in the Federal Law Gazette on 31 October 2007. The Second Law for the Regulation of the Copyright Law in the Information Society (second copyright law) will come into effect on 1 January 2008 ¹ .