- The Federal Fiscal Court (BFH) ruled on May 8, 2024 regarding retroactive compensation for transferred copyright.
- Section 32a of the Copyright Act provides for additional compensation if the initial compensation for the transfer of copyright is disproportionately low compared to the profits from the use of the work.
- Section 32a also includes extended liability for a third party if the copyright has been transferred.
- The BFH addressed the question of whether payments from a third party are subject to value-added tax liability in the current decision.
- Additional compensation to authors under Section 32a of the Copyright Act is directly related to the original contractual relationship and can be considered as payments from a third party.
- The case involved a dispute over whether retroactively agreed additional compensation for past transferred copyrights would lead to a change in the taxable base for the author.
- The author had entered into contracts with production companies for the creation and transfer of rights to film scripts, with subsequent transfers of rights to other companies for production and broadcasting.
- The case involved complex legal issues related to value-added tax laws and the treatment of additional compensation for transferred copyrights.
Source: datenbank.nwb.de
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
