Publishing Law essentially deals with the legal relationship between publishers and authors. For its part, the publisher is basically concerned with the extensive securing and exploitation of rights, as well as allocating liability in connection with any infringement of copyright, intellectual property, or privacy rights. The author, for his part, is initially concerned with the terms involved in granting such publishing rights (type and amount of author’s fees, guarantee payment, right of co-determination in the presentation of the published work, etc.). The matter of ancillary rights is also of major importance: (foreign licensing, stage adaptation, soundtrack rights, merchandising, etc.) - at what terms are such rights to be granted to the publisher or reserved by the author. Film rights, in particular, and the complex issues inherent in the granting of such rights, are likewise decisive.

Our legal practice focuses on negotiating the terms involved in the granting of such rights, as well as asserting claims that may arise from publishing agreements, and also includes monitoring the collective exercise of rights by the various collecting societies. Hereby ever more issues regarding reasonable compensation (§§ 32, 32 a Copyright Law) for the exploitation of rights are coming to the fore. Contractual arrangements and copyright issues in the exploitation of rights (also internationally) are likewise gaining significance (e-Books, enhanced E-Books, VoD, etc.).