Overview

• The Federal Court of Justice's First Civil Senate is hearing the case in Karlsruhe on Thursday at 9:00 CET, and a same-day ruling is considered unlikely.
• Amazon has taken over the Bond film rights at issue and is pursuing the appeal as the new rights holder.
• The defendant promotes personal-assistant services under the names "Moneypenny" and "My Moneypenny," runs a franchise model, uses the term in multiple domains, and holds a word mark.
• Lower courts in Hamburg denied Werktitelschutz for "Miss Moneypenny," citing insufficient individuality, no independent recognition outside the Bond series, and no consistent visual portrayal across actresses.
• The BGH is examining the legal threshold for granting title-like protection to characters beyond a work's title, an area where figures like Pippi Longstocking and Obelix have been recognized.