The European Union and Germany have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.

The Directive 2016/943 on the protection of undisclosed know-how and business information (trade secrets) is key in harmonising national laws concerning trade secrets. Germany transposed the Directive in 2018, as well as with the Law transposing Directive (EU) 2016/943 on the protection of trade secrets against their unlawful acquisition, use and disclosure.

It is reported that passive sharing is mandated and practised both in the mobile and fixed sectors. To bolster mobile coverage and stimulate infrastructure sharing for MFCN, the Federal Network Agency imposed a specific obligation as part of the frequency award decision BK1-17/001. Upon request by other nationwide assignment holders, assignment holders must, in compliance with telecommunications and antitrust law, engage in negotiations on the shared use of existing nationwide networks (roaming) and about infrastructure sharing. The negotiations should be non-discriminatory. Infrastructure sharing is practised in Germany in the fixed sector and in the mobile sector.
In addition, Directive 2014/61/EU (Art. 3.2) establishes that Member States shall ensure that, upon written request of an undertaking providing or authorised to provide public communications networks, any network operator must meet all reasonable requests for access to its physical infrastructure under fair and reasonable terms and conditions, including price, with a view to deploying elements of high-speed electronic communications networks. Such written request shall specify the elements of the project for which the access is requested, including a specific time frame.

It is reported that the German State holds over a 30% stake in Deutsche Telekom AG. This stake includes 13.8% owned by the Federal Republic and 16.6% by KfW Bankengruppe, a state-owned investment and development bank. Deutsche Telekom AG, based in Germany, is one of the largest telecommunications providers in Europe, operating in over 50 countries worldwide.

Under the so-called "No-Spy decree", companies processing confidential and classified information for public authorities must guarantee that they can ensure the confidentiality of this information and that they are not legally required to disclose it to third parties. There are exceptions to these standards for companies supplying information to German tax administration and law enforcement, but not for other countries' agencies, which were criticised by foreign companies that are legally required to surrender information under certain conditions. The ministry can terminate contracts on account of any violation.

Art. 85 of the Utilities Directive (2014/25/EU) contains provisions allowing contracting public entities to reject foreign goods not covered by any EU international commitments from its tender procedures. In these cases, a tender submitted for the award of a supply contract may be rejected where the proportion of the products originating in third countries exceeds 50% of the total value of the products constituting the tender (Art. 85.2). Additionally, in cases of equivalent offers, the provisions provide for a preference for European tenders and tenders covered by EU's international obligations. In practice, this possibility has rarely been used.
In 2016, the Directive has been transposed with the Law on the Modernisation of Public Procurement, as well as the Regulation on the Modernisation of Public Procurement Law.

Under German law, any foreign-owned company registered in the Federal Republic of Germany as a GmbH (limited liability company) under the Limited Liability Company Act (GmbHG) or as an AG (stock corporation) under the Stock Corporation Act is treated as a German-owned company. It is reported that there are no limitations on foreign ownership in any specific sector.

The Foreign Trade and Payments Act establishes an investment screening procedure for foreign acquisitions of German companies, requiring notifications to the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy for evaluations on potential threats to fundamental societal interests. The scope, defined in Art. 60 of the law and amended by the 17th amendment to the Foreign Trade and Payments Ordinance, varies by sector. It applies to any acquisition where a non-EU/non-EFTA investor holds at least 25% of the voting rights in a German target company, irrespective of financial thresholds or activity. For targets involved in any of the 27 listed activities, lower thresholds of 10% or 20% of voting rights apply. Specifically, acquisitions of 10% of voting rights in companies engaged in defence, encryption, and critical infrastructure and acquisitions of 20% in high-tech industries require notification.

Art. 25 of the Patent Act states that patent applicants and holders who do not have residency or a local presence must be represented by an attorney-at-law authorised and empowered for proceedings in front of the Federal Patent Office, the Patent Court, and in civil proceedings (attorneys from the EU and the European Economic Area are eligible in principle).

Germany is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

There is no general principle for the use of copyright-protected material comparable to the fair use/fair dealing principles. Directive 2001/29/EC defines an optional but exhaustive set of limitations from the author´s exclusive rights under the control of the “three-step test” in line with the Berne Convention that establishes three cumulative conditions to the limitations and exceptions of a copyright holder’s rights. The Directive has been transposed by Member States with significant freedom.
Chapter 6 of the Act on Copyright and Related Rights establishes a series of usage- and purpose-based exemptions in Germany, e.g., temporary reproduction, reproduction for data mining and text analysis, reproduction for private and other personal purposes, teaching and scientific research, all under the condition of non-alteration and acknowledgement of the source.

The European Union and Germany have adopted the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty. The treaty was ratified on 14 December 2009 and came into effect on 14 March 2010.

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