Newsletter February 2009
REAL PROPERTY AND
CONSTRUCTION
Obligation to Pay Damages in the Event of Maintenance
Work
Both at a national and municipal level a lot of attention is given
to urban renewal. In the framework of urban renewal, in addition to
the development of new projects landlords (such as housing
corporations in particular) apply themselves to quality improvement
of existing housing provisions by executing drastic maintenance
work. In addition, the question arises to what extent a landlord is
liable for damages as a consequence of the execution of work.
read more
PERSONAL DATA
PRIVACY
OPTA and the CBP Finally Give Their Opinion on
'Tell-a-Friend' systems
On 3 December 2008 the Dutch Independent Post and
Telecommunications Authority and the Dutch Data Protection
Authority jointly ended the existing insecurity and ruled on the
'tell-a-friend' systems.
read more
INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
OPTA Is Not Obliged to Investigate on Basis of A Single
Complaint about Spam
On 22 January 2009 the Court of Rotterdam ruled that OPTA is not
obliged to take action upon each request by natural persons against
possible violations of the ban on spam.
read more
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY
Perfume Testers and Exhaustion
In a case in preliminary relief proceedings in The Hague, the
question at issue was whether a trademark proprietor can take
action against the resale of (free) perfume testers. This is not
possible; the provision of testers to distributors for use in their
shops has exhausted any trademark rights.
read more
Liability of Forum Administrators for Copyright
Infringements by Their Users
Can the forum administrator of the
website www.maroc.nl be sued successfully for the
posting of copyright-protected material by its users?
read more
Commercial Exploitation of Jogging Mother's
Photograph
Is it possible to prohibit the commercial exploitation of a
photograph of a jogging mother behind a pram, which photograph was
taken without her knowledge and consent, on the basis of portrait
right?
read more
EMPLOYMENT
Illegally
Obtained Evidence in Employment Law
Illegally obtained evidence is usually allowed by the court in
employment law proceedings. The Subdistrict Court of Haarlem had to
rule on the situation in which an employer, after dismissal
proceedings, had checked the employee's computer and had found
e-mails from which it appeared that the employee wanted to start
her own business. Could this be a reason to revoke an order for
rescission or is there an infringement of privacy?
read more
The First Decision Using the New
Subdistrict Courts Formula
On 30 January 2009 the Subdistrict Court of Amsterdam has
rendered the first decision in which the new Subdistrict Courts
Formula was applied. In our newsletters of October 2008 and January
2009 we already discussed this new formula. How does the formula
work in practice and is there really a difference in outcome with
respect to the old formula?
read more
Commencement of the Period for Appeal and
Awaiting Advice from the Works Council
Pursuant to the Works Councils Act (Wet op de
Ondernemingsraden, "WOR"), the Works Council has a
right to advise with regard to certain topics. On 13 November 2008
the Enterprise Section gave a decision on the question of when
there is one request for advice, and when the period for appeal
starts to run in the case of two closely connected decisions.
read more