In a society shaped by the constant exchange of information and content, copyright law forms one of the most important guardrails for economic activity. Behind every digital image, every line of code, every text, and every video lies an individual intellectual creation that deserves protection.
At RICKERT.LAW, we support creators, rights holders, and particularly digital intermediary services in clearly defining copyright protection frameworks and using them successfully for economic purposes. Our services in copyright law cover the entire lifecycle of creative and technical content, from securing authorship and structuring contracts to platform liability issues, as well as questions relating to software copyright, artificial intelligence, and the protection of trade secrets.
Our Copyright Law Services
1. Copyright Protection & Enforcement
Protection, visibility, and consistent enforcement of copyright positions in digital content, software, and creative works.
Unlike registered trademarks, copyright arises automatically upon the creation of a work, provided that the work reaches the required level of originality. We help you make this protection visible externally and develop evidentiary strategies that allow you to prove your authorship comprehensively in the event of a dispute.
Whether the work involves software development, architecture, photography, or journalistic content, we examine the scope of your rights and enforce claims in cases of unauthorized use. If your content appears on third-party platforms without permission or your creative work is misused as plagiarism, we demand immediate cessation and appropriate compensation in the form of damages.
We represent rights holders both out of court and in litigation and ensure the effective enforcement of copyright claims in cases of image theft, content misappropriation, software piracy, and other infringements.
2. Platform, Intermediary & Liability Advisory
Legally compliant structuring of digital business models and minimization of liability risks for platforms, hosting providers, and other intermediary services.
We support platform operators in designing legally compliant business models. In doing so, we consider the complex rules governing the liability of service providers and assist with the implementation of processes for rights clearance.
We advise comprehensively on the requirements of notice-and-takedown procedures, enabling you to respond quickly and lawfully to reports from rights holders without exposing your platform to liability risks.
We also advise operators of digital infrastructures on handling requests for deletion, blocking, and information disclosure, as well as on defining their role as technical intermediaries. The goal is to proactively minimize liability risks while ensuring the legally secure operation of the platform or service.
3. Licensing Agreements, Usage Rights & Rights Chains
Structuring clear licensing frameworks and securing the chain of rights in the commercial exploitation of copyrighted works.
The commercial use of copyrighted works usually takes place through licensing. To avoid legal uncertainty, precise contractual arrangements are essential. We draft tailored licensing agreements defining exactly who may use a work, to what extent, for what period, and in which geographical area.
Particularly for digital intermediary services, we ensure that terms of use and general terms and conditions contain the necessary rights granted by users. This is a fundamental prerequisite for platforms to technically process uploaded content and make it publicly available.
When working with freelancers or external agencies, we ensure that all copyright usage rights in the code are effectively transferred to your company so that no legal gaps arise in your exploitation chain.
4. Software Copyright & Open-Source Risks
Protection of source code and software as well as the legal classification of open-source use and AI-assisted development under copyright law.
Copyright law protects the concrete expression of a computer program. This protection covers not only the finished object code but also the source code and preparatory design materials. We assist software companies, developers, and platform operators in securing their proprietary developments against unauthorized reproduction and decompilation.
We also analyze complex constellations such as the use of open-source components in proprietary software or the integration of third-party content via interfaces and APIs. Particular attention is paid to legal risks arising from the combination of different licensing models.
The use of AI-assisted coding tools such as GitHub Copilot or other LLM-based tools has raised new questions in copyright law. We analyze the risks that arise when AI models trained on open-source code generate outputs that flow into proprietary software. This may trigger copyleft effects that could require your own code to be released under an open-source license.
5. Copyright Law & Artificial Intelligence
Legal classification of AI-generated content and software as well as liability and licensing risks when using AI systems.
Rapid developments in artificial intelligence pose entirely new challenges for traditional copyright law. Can AI models be trained using protected content, and who owns the results generated by an AI system? We support companies and digital intermediary services in addressing these forward-looking questions.
Under current law, copyright protection requires an intellectual creation by a human being. If artificial intelligence generates essential parts of source code or other content, the question arises whether and to what extent copyright protection exists.
If your company or intermediary service offers or uses AI models, it must be ensured that no third-party rights are infringed. This applies both to the training data and to the output generated by the AI. We assist you in the legal assessment of these liability issues.
We also support the drafting of contracts with AI providers and advise digital intermediary services on implementing filter systems or policies that regulate the lawful handling of AI-generated content on their platforms.
6. Protection of Algorithms & Trade Secrets
Combining copyright protection mechanisms with the protection of trade secrets to safeguard technological innovations.
While the code itself is protected by copyright, the underlying ideas, methods, and mathematical concepts are largely excluded from copyright protection. To keep technological innovations exclusive nevertheless, we combine copyright protection with the protection of trade secrets.
We assist you in implementing technical and organizational measures that meet the legal requirements for confidentiality protection. This is particularly important if you operate digital intermediary services based on unique matching algorithms or data analysis procedures. We ensure that your innovations are protected against industrial espionage and unauthorized imitation, even where copyright protection reaches its limits.
Why RICKERT.LAW in Copyright Law?
Questions of copyright law are now closely linked to technological and economic frameworks. Anyone advising digital intermediary services must not only understand the law but also the functioning of algorithms, platforms and networks.
We do not view copyright law in isolation, but as the legal foundation for digital business models, platform structures and technology-driven value creation. The advisory approach combines expertise in copyright law with a deeper understanding of technical processes and digital infrastructures.
RICKERT.LAW advises creators, rights holders and digital intermediary services on securing and using copyright protection positions as well as on structuring complex usage and exploitation structures in a legally compliant manner.
Industry Focus
In copyright law, legal requirements vary significantly depending on the business model. Software companies, platform operators and digital intermediary services face different questions than traditional media and content exploiters. RICKERT.LAW advises with an industry-specific perspective and with a focus on the regulatory particularities of digital markets.
Digital Companies, Software Developers and Platform Models
In the digital environment, copyright law is closely linked to software, platform structures and data-driven business models. At RICKERT.LAW we support software companies, developers and platform operators in securing their code in a legally compliant way and minimizing risks when using AI tools.
Media Companies and Content Exploiters
Companies that commercially exploit copyrighted content also face complex legal requirements. RICKERT advises creators and exploiters on securing and using creative works, particularly where content is distributed digitally, technically processed or made accessible through platforms. The focus lies on clear rights positions and legally secure exploitation structures.
Digital Intermediary Services
A particular focus of our firm lies in advising digital intermediary services such as registries, registrars, resellers, hosting providers and online platforms. The legal requirements for intermediaries have tightened significantly due to new European directives, regulations and national laws. Intermediary services often face the challenge of hosting or transmitting third-party content without falling into liability for copyright infringements committed by their users.
Copyright Law Advisory for Digital Business Models
Copyright law forms the central framework for the economic use of creative and technical works in the digital world. Whether content, software or platform-based business models are involved, a solid legal structure is a prerequisite for sustainable exploitation and legal certainty.
We will gladly advise you on your specific project and support you in structuring and using copyrighted works in a legally compliant way.
Copyright Law / Copyright Infringement – Frequently Asked Questions
Unlike registered trademarks, copyright is not tied to registration. In Germany, protection arises automatically and without formalities at the moment a work is created, provided that it has the required level of originality, whether that work is a text, code, image, or video.
As a rule, hosting providers and online platform operators benefit from liability privileges as long as they have no knowledge of infringing content. Liability arises, however, once the provider becomes aware of an infringement, for example through a notice, and fails to act without undue delay under the notice-and-takedown procedure.
In principle, these services are purely technical in nature and have no influence over the content itself. Nevertheless, they are increasingly coming into focus for rights holders, as prominent cases such as Quad9 show. In certain circumstances, a blocking request may be justified if all legal requirements are met.
Under the current legal framework, copyright protection requires a “personal intellectual creation” by a human being. Source code generated purely by AI is therefore generally not protected. We analyze for software companies to what extent human direction and individual revision, through prompting and editing, may nevertheless be sufficient to preserve protection for your software architecture.
The greatest risk is the so-called copyleft effect. The use of certain open-source licenses can result in your entire proprietary software having to be released under a free license. We review your license chains and ensure that the use of third-party code does not lead to the loss of your intellectual property.
Copyright protects the specific source code, but often not the underlying abstract idea or mathematical algorithm. To safeguard your technological lead, we combine copyright with protection under the German Trade Secrets Act (GeschGehG). We support you in implementing the technical and contractual confidentiality measures that are legally required to maintain that protected status.
The author always remains the programmer as a natural person. For your company to exploit the software exclusively, the usage rights must be validly transferred. We draft specific software transfer agreements that ensure a seamless chain of title, a critical factor in any due diligence review or company valuation.
GDPR stands for: General Data Protection Regulation and refers to the basic data protection regulation which has been directly applicable in all EU member states since 25.05.2018. We would like to briefly highlight the essential aspects of the new regulations for you and present our consulting approach.