Press law
The specialists at TRÖBER@ legal advise you in all areas of digital and analog press law. This applies not only to the representation of journalists or media companies, but also to companies or private individuals who feel that their personal rights have been infringed by false or otherwise violating press coverage.
Have you personally or your company been the victim of what you consider to be harassment or false reporting by the press?
As a public figure, do you feel that you have been subjected to harassing press coverage?
Have you or your company received a press inquiry and are concerned that you are about to receive negative coverage?
Are you a journalist and third parties are accusing you of inadmissible reporting?
We can advise you on all press law issues, always taking into account the fast pace of the press business in the digital age.
How we work
Commercial law firm
As a commercial law firm, your business and financial success is important to us. Nowadays, negative or defamatory press coverage can have a massive impact not only on companies and public figures, but also on private individuals due to the scattering effect of the Internet, which in the worst case can jeopardize not only their personal environment but also their economic existence. Our experts will therefore advise and support you, particularly in urgent cases, with the necessary expertise and sense of proportion to assert your interests in the best possible way and limit the damage caused by inadmissible reporting from the outset.
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.
Our 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.