LG Köln confirms previous influencer case law

In a recent ruling, the Regional Court of Cologne has endorsed the hitherto very critical influencer case law and once again agreed with the VSW, which is based in Berlin.

The Court also required a labelling requirement and held that it was incidental that the influencer had not received any money or other benefits, such as a free transfer of goods, from the respective manufacturer.

Rather, the decisive factor is that an influencer with his content either already earns money or has the aim of doing so, and thus a separation of private content and advertising content is hardly possible. The court thus joins many other courts in Germany, which I do not want to link all of them individually here in the post office. The vast majority of the Higher Regional Courts have also agreed to this case-law. Only the District Court of Munich has departed. You can now find more than 100 posts on this topic on my blog by searching for the keyword influencer.

I strongly advise yourself to be smart here, so as not to fall into gross liability traps. Proper advice can massively reduce the risk of warning as well as other problems with taxes, business offices or media institutions. If you are looking for professional advice for streamers, you can contact me at any time via my live chat or my contact form. I regularly advise streamers and influencers as well as influencer agencies on professionalization, choosing the right legal form, drafting/correcting sponsorship contracts and other problems. A brief summary of why working with a lawyer is helpful can be found here.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.