News

For the first time since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the Sanctions Regulation (EU) 2022/576 has stipulated regulations for public procurement. The provisions are already in force and, from 11 October 2022 onwards, companies will have to ensure that there is no so-called connection with Russia also in their existing contracts. This also applies to the supply chain; otherwise there is a risk of the con-tract’s termination. In order to address this situation, public contracting authorities have recently started demanding so-called self-declarations, in which bidders are to declare that they have no connection with Russia.

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Green hydrogen is thought to play a key role in the success of the energy and transport transition. It takes considerable effort to establish a functioning hydrogen economy sys-tem, however. The draft of the so-called delegated act to the Renewable Energy Di-rective, referred to as the RED II, which has now been published, has caused an uproar in the H2 industry.

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The new Sanctions Regulation (EU) 2022/576 prohibits contracting authorities from awarding contracts to companies with links to Russia. This also applies if subcontractors with a connection to Russia have a share of more than 10% in the specific contract. As of 11 October 2022, contracts concluded with such companies prior to 9 April 2022 may no longer be performed and thus have to be terminated. The German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support [Bundesamt für Ausrüstung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr, BAAINBw] has developed a form for its contractors to declare that they have no links to Russia.

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At the latest since the launch of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022, economic sanctions have been on everyone's lips. The concept is not new, however. Rather, it is a long-established instrument, also used by the EU, to impose sanctions against certain legal entities, natural persons, groups of persons or countries in order to enforce political interests and compliance with international law.

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The International Comparative Legal Guide - Project Finance 2022 has now been published! Our colleagues Wolfgang Kotzur (Finance), Nefail Berjasevic (Insolvency), Marc Krischer (Tax) and Stephan Müller (Compliance / Foreign Trade) contributed the German chapter.

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The constitutional complaint lodged by the Luxembourg Amazon Services Europe S.à r.l. against the high-profile decision of the Regional Court of Hanover of 22 July 2021 concerning an alleged violation of the principle of procedural equality of arms has been unsuccessful: the German Federal Constitutional Court did not accept the constitutional complaint for decision.

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Oppenhoff has advised Schoofs Immobilien GmbH Frankfurt on the conclusion of a forward deal with the Irish investment fund manager Greenman and its Greenman Open fund. The shopping complex that is the subject matter of the contract is currently being built on an approx. 20,000 m² site at the foot of Montabaur Castle.

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The Higher Administrative Court [Verwaltungsgerichtshof, VGH] of Munich has ruled that outstanding tax debts of an insurance broker can lead to the revocation of the broker's licence (decision of 18 January 2022, 22 ZB 21.2643).

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On 6 April 2022, the EU Commission published guidelines for member states on dealing with foreign direct investment from Russia and Belarus. In these guidelines, the EU Commission calls on member states to make particular use of their national investment screening instruments for investors from these countries, making reference to EU Screening Regulation.

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Oppenhoff has acquired Ursula Rutovitz as new Head of Business Development & Marketing. The former German Head of the TMF Group has been supporting the firm in its business development and further dynamic growth since 1 May 2022.

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Oppenhoff has advised Next.e.GO Mobile SE on the conclusion of a testimonial agreement with soccer sensation Neymar Jr., who will become e.GO Mobile’s new global brand ambassador.

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Oppenhoff has advised the Horn & Co. Group on the merger of its European recycling activities with RHI Magnesita. By merging their production, both companies will increase the use and supply of secondary raw materials for the European refractories industry.

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In response to Russia's sustained attack on Ukraine, which is contrary to international law, the EU Commission has taken the further measure of cancelling the Union's previously existing general export authorisations for Russia by way of its Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/699 of 3 May 2022.

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E-sports are no longer in their infancy. The industry has experienced dizzying growth over recent years, accompanied by a significant increase in professionalism.

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Oppenhoff has advised Überörtliche Berufsausübungsgemeinschaft Dres. Schumann, Knevels, Hoffmann und Kollegen, now Nephrologicum Westfalen, on the sale of Medizinisches Versorgungszentrum Nephrologicum Westfalen.

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The deadline for transposing the EU Whistleblower Directive 2019/1937 into national law expired in vain on 17 December 2021. Germany is therefore facing infringement proceedings. Now, draft bill of the German Federal Ministry of Justice [Bundesministerium der Justiz, BMJ] on a new Whistleblower Protection Act [Hinweisgeberschutzgesetz, HinSchG] dated 13 April 2022 aims to set the long overdue implementation of the law in motion.

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The EU has once again significantly tightened its sanctions against Russia. On 8 April 2022, it adopted another, fifth sanctions package. With these sanctions, the EU is responding to continued Russian aggression against Ukraine's territorial integrity and ongoing attacks on Ukrainian civilians and cities.

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Oppenhoff has advised the Swedish listed life science company AddLife AB on the acquisition of the BioCat Group.

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As a result of the war in Ukraine, prices for raw materials and energy have risen immensely and are currently causing problems not just for internationally oriented German industry. More and more companies are therefore confronted with the question of whether they can respond to the production disruptions by introducing short-time work or by business closures or relocations in the short term.

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As the new metaverse shows: the boundaries between digital and virtual worlds are becoming increasingly blurred. Manufacturers of virtual reality technology have long since recognised that the need for complex, virtual worlds is immense and needs to be differentiated further. This includes the fact that, especially in online role-playing games, there is a market for virtual goods that only exist within the respective game. The German Federal Fiscal Court (Bundesfinanzhof, BFH) has now addressed the question of whether the trading of virtual goods triggers sales tax. The BFH deems there to be no sales tax liability in the virtual world, but only once virtual money is exchanged for real money.

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Paper is increasingly being dispensed with for reasons of sustainability. Home office obligations and travel bans in connection with the Corona pandemic are making handwritten signatures impractical. Electronic signatures are a simple alternative to traditional signatures and are increasingly important in business and legal transactions.

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Just as in "conventional" sports, the marketing and commercial exploitation of events also plays a central role in generating revenues in e-sports. In addition to ticket sales, sponsorship and advertising, media exploitation of the event in particular is a source of revenue with great growth potential. Here, however, the interests of the various players are frequently at odds - especially those of the organiser and the game manufacturer. Below, we explain the opportunities and risks for organisers concerning the commercial exploitation of e-sports events.

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The loss of players due to cheaters is a serious problem for game makers and publishers. The common anti-cheat measures that have been used to date, such as account bans, are not particularly effective. Publishers and manufacturers have therefore increasingly started using so-called hardware ID bans, where the unique identifiers of the components installed in the end device, such as the graphics card or CPU, are read out. Is this legally permissible?

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Since the beginning of the Ukraine war, there is a huge sense of solidarity with the people there. Many NPOs are actively engaged. Private individuals and especially companies also want to actively help. With a BMF letter published yesterday, the German Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium der Finanzen - BMF) is now trying to remove some of the existing hurdles.

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Right in time for the calendar beginning of spring, companies are to be brought out of their corona hibernation and the majority of corona measures in the workplace dropped. This was finally decided by the German Bundestag and the Bundesrat today.

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