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The first draft bill recently published by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE) for a new Investment Screening Act introduces, amongst other things, changes to acquisition arrangements, thresholds and sectors subject to notification, and presents additional challenges for acquirers

The Frankfurt am Main Regional Court has ordered Google not to publish images of a plot of land on Google Earth and Google Street View.

If a debtor informs their creditor that they are unable to settle a due and substantial debt, this, according to the case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), generally constitutes grounds for the creditor to be deemed to have knowledge of the suspension of payments.

The Ingolstadt Regional Court has made it clear that the seller alone is liable under the statutory warranty. Anyone who simply refers customers to the manufacturer is misleading them about their consumer rights.

A job applicant who had been discriminated against claimed the difference in salary up to retirement age. The Federal Labour Court (BAG) rejected this claim.

The European Parliament has come out in favour of partially suspending the obligation to appoint an authorised representative for extended producer responsibility in other Member States.

Any contractor who fails to take into account an identifiable presence of unexploded ordnance must bear the additional costs themselves. This was the ruling recently handed down by the Higher Regional Court of Schleswig.

On 19 August 2026, the Federal Court of Justice ruled that converted commercial premises are permanently exempt from the rent cap only if they were not previously suitable for use as residential accommodation.

Under the new EU Anti-Money Laundering Regulation (AML Regulation), ‘professional football clubs’ and ‘football agents’ will, for the first time, be subject to anti-money laundering obligations.

Starting from 2026, Vietnam introduces a series of significant tax incentives to promote investment, research and development (R&D), innovation, and high-quality talent attraction in the fields of high technology, digital technology, and strategic technology or located in concentrated digital technology zones.

To support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the National Assembly and the Government have introduced several new Corporate Income Tax (CIT) incentives effective from 2026.

During the legislative process, the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) had already taken the view that a subsidiary providing IT services to its group qualifies as a managed service provider (MSP) under NIS2. The same applied where the parent company provided IT services for the whole group.

On 12 October 2026, the EU published new sanctions against Russia.

In a recent ruling, the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has tightened the requirements for advertising using medical quality seals.

The Federal Labour Court (BAG) has strengthened protection against dismissal in cases of split parental leave. The special protection against dismissal, which takes effect in advance, applies anew before each individual period of parental leave.

The European Court of Justice has clarified that a data protection breach occurring during the collection of personal data does not automatically render that data inadmissible as evidence in court.

As early as 2021, the regulatory authority responded to findings by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment and introduced national regulations on printing inks.

Since 1 July 2026, new customs regulations have been in force for the transatlantic trade in goods, based on the so-called ‘Turnberry Agreement’ of 21 August 2025 between the EU and the US.

This evening, the Bundestag passed the new Section 15b of the Unfair Commercial Practices Act (UWG). The provision addresses a practical issue that the underlying EU Directive had left unresolved:

In two recent preliminary ruling proceedings, the ECJ has clarified key aspects of Regulation (EU) 2017/745 (MDR).

An amendment to the MedCanG has been in the pipeline for some time, but is still a long way off. Partly – or perhaps precisely – because it remains unclear when and in what form the amendments to the MedCanG will ultimately come into force, the debate surrounding remote prescriptions, mail-order pharmacies and digital care models is…

The Building Modernisation Act has come into force and replaces the previous ‘Heating Act’.

The Federal Court of Justice has declared a widely used clause in the Supplementary Contractual Conditions for Road and Bridge Construction, relating to the return of security deposits, to be invalid.

With the e-Evidence Package coming into full effect on 18 August 2026, foreign law enforcement authorities can now issue disclosure and preservation orders directly to service providers in Germany. Companies must make organisational and technical preparations.

Trust arrangements involving partnerships that own property carry a risk that is often underestimated: even if the settlor already has an economic interest in the partnership, they are regarded as a ‘new partner’ when they subsequently acquire a share under civil law.

The claim for compensation under section 642 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is conditional upon the contractor offering to perform the work in accordance with section 295 of the BGB and being capable of doing so.

A final judgement by Munich Local Court illustrates why claimants should not rely on blanket assertions when claiming loss of profits.

Anyone taking over the management of a limited liability company (GmbH) must immediately assess its financial position. If there are signs of a crisis, they must immediately assess whether the company is at risk of insolvency, or have this assessed.

The deadline for implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive has passed, and no German legislation has yet been enacted. However, even without implementation, the Directive is already having an effect on private employers through its interpretation in accordance with the Directive.

From 2 August 2026, the European AI Regulation will impose labelling requirements on image, audio and video deepfakes, as well as on AI-generated text in the public interest. This raises the question for e-commerce: which AI-generated images must be labelled – and which do not need to be?