Right of rescission of the author gem. 137 1 Abs. 1 UrhG in practice

Abstract

As part of the reform of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) Section 1371 deals with a transitional measure for new types of publication. In particular it allows publishers to make use of online publishing without previous license agreements with copyright holders. However, a copyright holder can prohibit such forms of publication through a formal declaration within one year of the law's enactment. This paper deals with the right to revoke permission and discusses several specific instances in order to show whether, and to what extent, the exercise of this legal right actually safeguards the interests of copyright holders.