Basics of Private Law

Students are taught the contents of the general part of the German Civil Code as well as the law of obligations, property law and tort law.

The course covers, among other things, the formation of contracts, legal capacity and capacity to contract, representation, avoidance, the law of general terms and conditions, performance disruptions in the contractual relationship and the basic principles of property and ownership law.

Introduction to Innovation Law
(formerly Introduction to Intellectual Property Law)

The course provides an introduction to the regulatory complexes that play a key role in the protection of technical innovations in particular, namely patent law, (technical) copyright law and the law on the protection of trade secrets (know-how). The specific requirements for protection and the possibilities that these rights offer owners to defend themselves against imitations are dealt with, including the international references in each case. The content is taught in a practical manner; part of the course is the expert colloquium on intellectual property law towards the end of the lecture period, in which recognised specialists in intellectual property law give lectures on current legal problems of innovation law.

German and European Fair Trade Practices and Competition Law
(formerly Private Commercial Law)

The course provides a comprehensive insight into German and European competition law and unfair competition law. Free, undistorted and fair competition is essential to guarantee the exchange of goods, services, capital and persons at national and international level and to protect market participants (companies and consumers) from abusive behaviour. The applicable legal requirements in this respect, including current developments in legislation such as the Digital Markets Act, are presented in the course as well as the references to intellectual property law, in particular patent and trademark law.

Litigation and out-of-court dispute resolution, contract drafting

Students will gain an insight into the course of judicial proceedings and out-of-court dispute resolution and become familiar with law enforcement as a functional component of a legal relationship. In addition, methodological knowledge for drafting and negotiating contracts will be taught. Students should learn how to implement economic interests in contracts, particularly those with technical references, in a legally effective manner.

Commercial and Company Law
(formerly Commercial Law and Company Law)

The course first provides an overview of the basic structures of commercial law, including the concept of a merchant, commercial law powers of attorney, the principles of the commercial company and the commercial register as well as commercial transactions. The basic principles of company law are then presented with the distinction between partnerships and corporations, starting with the partnership under civil law regulated by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) to the commercial partnerships (OHG and KG) regulated by the German Commercial Code (HGB) to the legal entities (e.g. GmbH and AG), for which there are various special laws. The requirements for the formation and representation of a company as well as the principles of liability of the company and the shareholders in internal and external relationships are presented.

Introduction to the law

The course begins with an explanation of the concept and function of the law as well as its mode of operation and methodology. An overview of the system of German law is then given. The basics of the most important areas of law (private law, constitutional and administrative law, European law, criminal law) are then presented.

In-depth study of private law

In the course, typical contractual relationships (such as purchase contracts, leases, contracts for work and services) are presented in more detail and disruptions to contractual performance are dealt with in depth (default, impossibility and warranty), including the reversal of disrupted contractual relationships. In addition, transactions of disposal (transfer of ownership of movables and real estate as well as the assignment of rights and claims) are dealt with in depth.

In-depth study of innovation law
(formerly in-depth study of intellectual property law)

In the course, selected topics of patent and utility model law (protection of technical inventions) and technical copyright law (protection of software and databases) are dealt with in depth, including the principles of licensing such rights. In addition, a comprehensive insight into product-related design law and trade mark law is provided. The content of the event will be supported by lectures and workshops by practitioners. The course includes a visit to the expert colloquium on intellectual property law, which takes place towards the end of the lecture period.

National and European Energy Law
(formerly Energy Law I and Energy Law II)

Students are given an overview of the fundamentals of national and European law on grid-bound energy supply. This includes, in particular, regulatory law, the awarding of concessions and consumer and environmental protection. The tasks of the federal and state regulatory authorities are also covered. In addition, the general basic concepts and principles of European law, in particular the directives and regulations and the European treaties with their impact on national law, are discussed. The competent authorities of the European Union are also considered here.

Labour Law
(formerly Labour Law I and Labour Law II)

In the course, an overview of the classification of labour law and its basic concepts is first given. Among other things, the creation of employment relationships, rights and obligations arising from the employment relationship, the distribution of liability and risk in the employment relationship, the termination of employment relationships and the transfer of undertakings will be covered. The event will also focus on coalition law, collective bargaining law, industrial action law and works constitution law.

Data Management and Technology Law (new)

The event will provide an overview of the many legal challenges posed by the increasing digitalisation and data processing of the economy. The focus is on the legal assignment of and access to data (personal data, industrial data and research data) as well as the possibilities and limits of the utilisation of data sets. The European and international aspects of data management law will also be discussed, particularly using the EU Data Act as an example. The technology law part of the event will focus in particular on questions of regulating the use of technology and liability when using autonomous systems and generative AI, for example. There are also points of contact with intellectual property law and, in particular, copyright law.

Advanced Legal Seminar (Innovation and Commercial Law)
(formerly Private Law Seminar/Commercial Law Seminar)

In this seminar, students will independently familiarise themselves with a specific problem from innovation law (in particular intellectual property law) or private commercial law (in particular antitrust and unfair competition law). The results of the research will be presented and discussed in the form of a scientific paper as well as orally.

- General part of the BGB (legal capacity and capacity to contract; special protection for minors)

- BGB law of obligations (law of general terms and conditions; contracts for digital content; contracts in e-commerce)

- BGB property law (protection and transfer of property; limited rights in rem)

- BGB tort law (protection of other rights in Section 823 (1) BGB)

- Protection and exploitation of technical inventions (patent and utility model law; licence agreement law)

- Judicial enforcement of technical property rights

- Protection of trade secrets/protection of know-how (differentiation from patent protection; problems of compulsory licences; protection of trade secrets in court proceedings)

- Special features of the law on employee inventions and university inventions

- Assignment and exploitation of inventions and know-how in corporate collaborations

- Copyright protection of software and databases

- Intellectual property protection of AI systems

- Protectability of AI "inventions"

- Protection of trademarks on the Internet

- The new EU "design package"

- Consumer protection in the UWG

- Limits of comparative advertising

- Protection against counterfeiting under fair trading law

- The EU Digital Markets Act

- Abuse of dominant market position by social networks

- Compulsory licences under antitrust law

- Protection and utilisation of personal data (in particular GDPR)

- Protection and utilisation of non-personal data (machine data, research data)

- The EU Digital Services Act

- Data governance and EU Data Act

- Liability for the use of artificial intelligence systems (in particular the EU AI Act)