Media- and Press Law
As a specialized digital and IT law firm, TRÖBER@ legal is at your side for all questions of media law. We support you both in shaping and enforcing your own rights and in defending against claims made against you. Media law issues concern a wide range of areas, including press law, broadcasting law, data protection law, copyright law and new media law.
Do you have legal questions in connection with publications in the press or digital media?
As an influencer or commercial enterprise, would you like to ensure that your content is published in a legally compliant manner?
Do you place online advertising integrated into your own content and want to ensure legally compliant labeling?
Has your published content been objected to by one of the media authorities and are you threatened with regulatory measures or are you to be heard on such measures?
Have you or your company received a press inquiry or have you already been exposed to negative and, in your opinion, inadmissible press coverage?
Our experts at TRÖBER@ legal will competently assist you with all these questions and help you to make optimum use of the legal framework and protect your interests. Thanks to our special expertise in the field of IT law, we can advise you with a particular focus on press publications on the internet and in the digital media.
Media Law
Commercial law firm
As a commercial law firm, our aim is to offer you practical and economically sensible solutions. We attach great importance to providing you with preventive advice in order to avoid legal conflicts from the outset. However, should a dispute arise, we will represent your interests resolutely - both out of court and in court.
Advice
Our focus is on providing comprehensive advice in order to create the legal framework you need for your publications and other media activities. We always endeavor to prevent conflicts in advance by providing precise and forward-looking advice. Should a legal dispute nevertheless be necessary, we will stand by your side and work towards an economically viable solution.
Preventive advice in relation to media supervision
In the digital age, not only traditional players such as press companies and broadcasters, but increasingly also companies and influencers who publish content online have to deal with the legal requirements of media law. Legal frameworks include the Interstate Media Treaty (MStV), the Interstate Treaty on the Protection of Minors in the Media (JMStV) and the Digital Services Act (DDG). In Germany, media supervision is primarily carried out by the media authorities of the federal states, e.g. in NRW by the State Media Authority (LfM) NRW based in Düsseldorf.
Our specialists advise you on all aspects of media law, the publication of media content or advertising in connection with content as well as labeling, in particular the important creation of a legally compliant imprint. By designing your content in accordance with the legal framework, you can prevent possible intervention by the supervisory authorities from the outset and ensure your commercial success. Thanks to their personal experience of working with supervisory authorities in the past, our experts know exactly what is important and can provide you with the best possible advice tailored to your needs.
Advice on complaints and administrative measures by the media supervisory authority
If a regulatory complaint, a request for a statement or citation or even a formal administrative measure has already been issued in relation to media content published by you, it is necessary to act quickly. Failure to comply with the corresponding orders of the media supervisory authority may result in a substantial fine or penalty payment, or at least the payment of the corresponding administrative fees.
TRÖBER@ legal is at your side throughout the entire administrative procedure when dealing with the supervisory authorities. From the response to a hearing letter or the formulation of a statement with the aim of preventing a formal supervisory measure to the implementation of an official objection procedure following the adoption of such a measure, we always have your economic and personal interests in mind. If necessary, we will also represent your interests before the administrative courts.
Advice on advertising in online media
The placement of advertising and other related content (e.g. testimonials or product placements) in online media and other content produced by you, especially on social media such as YouTube or Instagram, is particularly relevant in the digitalized society. The legal framework in Germany provides for extensive rules for the placement of advertising in telemedia, primarily geared towards consumer protection.
Our experts at TRÖBER@ legal advise you on the legally compliant embedding of advertising in the media content you produce, whether you are a commercial enterprise or an influencer. For all labeling and disclosure obligations, the focus is on the most organic integration possible of the advertising you place, insofar as this is legally possible. Content that is too “artificially” recognizable as advertising can deter your audience - we know the scope and nuances permitted by law in detail and always have your economic interests in mind.
Our Expertise
Dealing with the media supervisory authorities
We support you in all communication and disputes with the media supervisory authorities - whether in the run-up to a feared administrative procedure, in response to a hearing form sent to you or a request for a statement and also in response to notices of objection issued against you.
Defense against warnings
In addition to complaints by the media supervisory authorities as public bodies, there has recently also been an increase in warnings regarding media content by private companies or privately organized consumer protection associations, regularly based on the Unfair Competition Act (UWG). We examine the prospects of success of your action against such warnings and take over the further communication with the warning parties in order to find a solution that is oriented towards your economic interests.
Influencer advertising contracts
Our experts draw up legally compliant contracts for you as a company, influencer or influencer management, which define the legal framework for a short or long-term cooperation and thus prevent future disputes in advance. Last but not least, the questions of the rights of use to the content generated by the influencer personality, the details of the intended advertising campaign and the important question of the distribution of liability are particularly relevant.
Protection of the personal rights of influencers
Influencers are in the public eye to a particular extent and regularly use their personality as a key asset in their activities. The unauthorized use of content, the unauthorized distribution of photos, videos or other violations of personal rights therefore often hit these people particularly hard. We consistently pursue your personal rights for you by preparing legally compliant warning letters and - if necessary - a court injunction, so that your personality remains protected as the cornerstone of your activity in the best possible way.
Press Law
Digital and IT law firm
Nowadays, press law in the form of the law of public word and image reporting no longer only encompasses traditional print and film works, but is increasingly taking place predominantly on digital channels and on the internet. As a boutique law firm with a focus on IT and digital media law, our work therefore focuses specifically on digital press publications. This allows you to benefit optimally from our special expertise in the field of IT and computer law - our experts know not only the legal framework but also the technical background and possibilities of digital media, so that we can offer you comprehensive advice.
Preventive advice for companies, public figures and private individuals
The best time to stop inadmissible and negative press coverage is before it is published. Even if you act immediately, it may be too late to prevent irreparable damage to your reputation after the publication of defamatory or untrue content, even if you take legal action. If you have received a press inquiry or fear imminent negative reporting for other reasons, you can prevent a violation of your personal rights in advance of the reporting by sending a so-called press law information letter to the parties involved. We support you in the preventive defense against inadmissible reporting so that damage to your reputation or that of your company is prevented from the outset.
Judicial and extrajudicial action against negative press coverage
If negative reporting cannot be prevented in advance, we will advise you in all steps of judicial and extrajudicial proceedings against press publications. In order to defend your rights as economically as possible, we will try to reach an out-of-court settlement before seeking legal assistance and will assert any injunctive relief to which you are entitled by issuing warnings. Should it become necessary, we will apply for an urgent court injunction to protect your rights and will also conduct the main proceedings that regularly follow - nationwide.
Advice for journalists and media companies
On the other hand, we also advise media professionals who find themselves wrongly exposed to warnings or injunctions due to allegedly inadmissible reporting. Although freedom of the press is particularly protected in Germany by the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), like most fundamental rights it is not guaranteed without limits, but is restricted, for example, by the rights of third parties or the protection of children and young people. This tense relationship means that even nuances in the wording can make the difference between reporting that is still permissible and reporting that is unlawful. Our experts at TRÖBER@ legal will support you not only in defending against claims for injunctive relief asserted against you, but ideally also in providing legal advice in the run-up to reporting.
Out expertise
Responding to press enquiries
Press inquiries addressed to you or your company or requests for comment from journalists or media companies can, at worst, be a harbinger of negative reporting. On the other hand, they also offer the opportunity to prevent such reporting in advance by taking a clever approach. As such inquiries are usually accompanied by a - usually short - deadline for comment, prompt action is crucial in such cases. The experts at TRÖBER@ legal support you in correctly classifying press inquiries and work closely with you to develop a strategy for further action. Following the press inquiry, we will legally assess the subsequent reporting for you and initiate further steps at your request.
Press law information letters
Proactive action on your part can prevent or at least mitigate any expected negative reporting in advance. We support you in drafting an information letter under press law, which informs media professionals in advance about illegal content that they intend to publish and, in the best case scenario, prevents publication. As case law sometimes places high demands on the admissibility of such “advance warnings”, it is particularly important that these letters are drafted in a legally compliant manner, which we draft in close consultation with you and thus optimally protect your rights and interests.
Counterstatements, corrections and retractions
Damage to your personal or business reputation can also be limited in the aftermath of negative reporting by asserting a counterstatement, retraction or correction in and out of court.
The right to a counterstatement under press law is contained in the press laws of the federal states. This is a statement or statement of facts formulated by the person concerned about a matter that was previously reported in the press.
When asserting a claim for correction, on the other hand, the publishing medium itself is obliged to correct its own previous reporting that does not correspond to the facts.
A claim for retraction, i.e. for an explicit retraction of previously made claims, can exist against media professionals in particular when making untrue factual claims.
Our experts at TRÖBER@ legal will support you in asserting these claims out of court and, if necessary, in court and will also advise you on the legally compliant formulation of a counterstatement.
Warning letters and applications for interim injunctions
Following negative press coverage, we support you in asserting the claims for injunctive relief and rectification to which you are entitled. Ideally, the breach of law can be remedied by a pre-litigation warning to the publishing media company or journalist, thus avoiding a potentially costly and time-consuming legal dispute. If necessary, we can also represent your rights in court and apply for an urgent temporary injunction to effectively prevent infringements by media professionals. Finally, we also represent you nationwide in the subsequent main proceedings, whereby we continue to work on a settlement of the legal dispute that is tailored to your interests and as cost-effective as possible.
Defense against cease-and-desist letters and preliminary injunctions
If you, as a media professional or media entrepreneur, have received a warning letter or an injunction, the press law experts at TRÖBER@ legal will support you in reviewing the claims asserted and ensure that communication with the other party is legally compliant and geared towards your interests. We are aware that in the fast-moving press business, the publication of a particular news item or story can depend on a few days, if not hours. That is why we are at your side with advice and assistance in defending against unjustified claims and ideally aim to clarify the facts of the case before going to court. If necessary, we will also consistently represent your interests in court.