Assistant Professor for Civil Law and the Law of the Algorithm-driven Economy

BeckOGK: Contributions on German and EU leniency provisions published

The new commenterary BeckOGK on whistleblower protection law has been released, including the contributions by Tabea Bauermeister on the competition law provisions of Section 33e GWB, Sections 81h–81n GWB, Section 22 HinSchG, and Article 23 Regulation 1/2003. They present Germany’s and the EU’s leniency regimes, the civil-law protection of leniency applicants against joint and several liability, and the role of the Bundeskartellamt as an external reporting body under the HinSchG (German Whistleblower Protection Act).

Blog post: ‘EU Competition Law, the Assignment Model and why Roundwood is (partially) on the Wrong Track‘

The Landgericht Dortmund (Regional Court of Dortmund) decided on referring to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling in Roundwood Case asking about EU law’s stance on the Assignment Model in the area of competition law. On the Kluwer Competition Law Blog , Tabea Bauermeister took the occasion as an opportunity to explore the connection between EU competition law and the Assignment Model asking whether EU law precludes the mechanism or – on the contrary – even demands for it.

Presentation: Collective Private Enforcement of EU Platform Regulations & the Assignment Model (November 7, 2024)

In Germany, there is an ongoing debate about the Assignment Model, an extra-legal mechanism of bundling damage claims. However, this debate almost exclusively focuses on the German Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz (Legal Services Act). Yet, in the context of EU platform regulations, another aspect must also be taken into account: the general principles of EU law. On November 7, during the “Tools for Better Enforcement of EU Law in the Digital Space” conference at the University of Osnabrück, Tabea Bauermeister held a presentation on this additional dimension.

Presentation: Digital Content and Digital Services in EU Contract Law (October 11, 2024)

On October 11, the School of Law at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (Wuhan, China) hosted the international symposium “Private Law and Digitalization in Comparative Perspective”. Tabea Bauermeister participated and held a presentation on the Digital-Content-Directive.

Paper: ‘Instrumentalisierung als Weltpolizei?’ (Instrumentalization as a Global Police Force?)

Following the conference ‘Wirtschaft und Methode’ (Economics and Method) at the University of Vienna, the associated conference volume Ewerz/Soldo/Tokic, Wirtschaft und Methode (here  in German) has now been published. In her contribution “Instrumentalisierung als Weltpolizei? Das Unternehmen in den europäischen Bestrebungen um eine CSDD-Richtlinie“ (Instrumentalization as a global Police Force? The undertaking in the European efforts toward a CSDD-Directive), Tabea Bauermeister examines the implications of the scope of application of the CSDD-Directive.

Panel Discussion: "EU-Competitiveness in a Globalized World: Competition Law and OR vs Regulation?" (September 6, 2024)

As part of the Young Competition Law Scholars Conference “Think Big – Questioning the Role of Competition Law in the 21st Century”, Tabea Bauermeister participated in a panel discussion on September 6 addressing the question “EU-Competitiveness in a Globalized World: Competition Law and OR vs Regulation?”. The discussion focused on issues of market failure and legislative failure, the significance of the DMA for the EU’s competitiveness, and how it relates to traditional competition law.

BeckOGK: Updated contribution on Article 6 Rome II-Regulation published

Article 6 of the Rome II-Regulation serves as the special conflict-of-laws provision for antitrust and unfair commercial practices. The latest revision, now solely by Tabea Bauermeister (June 1, 2024), has been published in the renowned commentary ‘BeckOGK’. Among others, the update examines whether Article 6 of the Rome II-Regulation can be applied to obligations arising from the DMA and DSA.

Presentation: Modifying digital content and digital services according to the Unfair-Terms- and the Digital-Content-Directive (July 3, 2024)

Article 19 of the Digital-Content-Directive and Annex n° 1(k) of the Unfair-Terms-Directive overlap: one provision concerns changes made to digital content or digital services during an existing contract while the other one addresses the possibility of unilaterally altering performance through general terms and conditions. On July 3, as part of the ‘Forschungszirkel Wirtschaftsprivatrecht’ (Research Circle on Commercial Law), Tabea Bauermeister examined the question of whether one provision (that is its national implementation) supersedes the other or whether both apply.

Conference: Private Enforcement in the Digital Singe Market (June 6-7, 2024)

On June 6 and 7, Sebastian Schwamberger and Tabea Bauermeister organised a conference on “Private Enforcement in the Digital Single Market” which was generously supported by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation. As a unique feature, rather than concentrating on a single legal act (such as the DMA or the DSA), the presentations addressed recurring issues in the Digital Single Market. These included the interplay between private and public enforcement, challenges related to quantifying damages and the burden of proof, as well as questions regarding the attribution of knowledge and fault (see program in German). The manuscripts will be published shortly in a conference volume. Many thanks to all speakers and participants!

Seminar WS 24/25: "Start-ups in Commercial Law"

Can I start my own business with an idea that I originally developed for my employer? How can I protect my business concept? These and other commercial law issues gathered by a survey in the Regensburg start-up community will be dealt within the seminar offered by Tabea Bauermeister and Anna Bernzen in the upcoming winter semester. More information can be found - here

Lecture: Private Digital Law III and Oral Exam

In the summer semester of 2024, the lecture "Private Digital Law III" will be offered for the first time. It will centre around (European) platform regulations. After an introduction to the special features of the platform economy, the individual legal acts, in particular the DMA (Digital Markets Act), the DSA (Digital Services Act) and the P2B Regulation (Platform to Business), wil be examined in depth. Further information on the oral exam can be found - here

Blog post: Are competitors allowed to sue for GDPR violations?

A pharmacist is suing his competitor for an allegedly inadmissible processing of health data in online sales. But is health data even generated when ordering paracetamol or other non-prescription drugs? And even if it were, shouldn't the GDPR violation actually be claimed by the affected customers themselves?  On beck-aktuell, Tabea Bauermeister discusses the Opinion of Advocate General Szpunar published on these questions in the Lindenapotheke case (C-21/23).

Lecture: Introduction to the German Civil Law at Tashkent State University of Law

In early April, together with Prof. Dr. Anna Bernzen, Prof. Dr. Tabea Bauermeister gave an introductory lecture on civil law at the Tashkent State Universitiy of Law in Uzbekistan. For the Uzbek law students, it was a great opportunity to put their German language skills to use in a legal context, and for the lecturers it was a very enriching intercultural experience.

Conference: Private Enforcement in the Digital Single Market

On June 6 and 7, together with Prof. Dr. Sebastian Schwamberger, Prof. Dr. Tabea Bauermeister is organizing a conference on Private Enforcement in the Digital Single Market. 

Excursion seminar to Vietnam

Together with students of HTW Berlin,
the University of Augsburg, the Hanoi School of Law as well as the National University of Vietnam and supervised by Tabea Bauermeister, four students of the Univerity of Regensburg participated in a seminar on "Fundamental Rights and their Impact on the Civil Law System" in Vietnam. Discussed and debated were the protection of human rights under international law and its impact on civil law. Moreover, the seminar included a moot court in which the students were able to apply their previously acquired knowledge. With regard to their flight cost, the students from Regensburg were supported by the Regensburger Universitätsstiftung.

Frankfurter Kommentar zum Kartellrecht:
Contribution on Art. 7 DMA published

With the 107th edition of the Frankfurter Kommentar zum Kartellrecht (Frankfurt Commentary on Antitrust Law), Tabea Bauermeister's contribution on Art. 7 DMA has been published. Article 7 DMA gives providers of number-independent interpersonal communication services a right to interoperability with the designated central platform services WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger. Amongst others, the contribution covers the background and genesis, the (potential) addressees, the concept and dimensions of interoperability, questions on law enforcement and related provisions.

Paper: Human rights and environmental protection through the back door?

At the 4th German Conference for Young PIL Scholars, Tabea Bauermeister gave a presentation on the international private law dimension of the claim for damages in the proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. Within the compendium  "Die Achtung des Fremden", the corresponding transcript has now been published.

Lecture: EU Competition Law and the Digital Markets Act

On 27/02/24, as part of the Zoom conference "New Competition Law of Uzbekistan: Implications from the international scholarship" hosted by the Tashkent State University of Law, Tabea Bauermeister held a presentation on European competition law and the Digital Markets Act.

JURA: mock exam published in legal educational journal

Under the title "The Pitfalls of the Touchscreen", the legal educational journal JURA published a mock exam composed by Tabea Bauermeister on errors while concluding a contract. See JURA 2024, 297

Lecture "The change to digital products according to § 327r BGB – an infringement of the principle of pacta sunt servanda?"

With regard to Sec. 327r of the German Civil Code, the government draft (BT-Drs. 19/27653, p. 77) states that the provision is an "exception" and that – as the contractual parties are generally bound by what they agreed upon – the provision must be interpreted in a restrictive way. But is that really true? Does Sec. 327r BGB infringe the principle of pacta sunt servanda? On Monday, February 5, 2024, as part of the Regensburger Fakultätsseminar, Tabea Bauermeister gave a presentation on these very questions.

K&R: paper on Sec. 327p Para. 1 Sentence 2 of the German Civil Code (BGB)

In its second issue 2024, K&R published a re-print of Tabea Bauermeister's reflections on Sec. 327p (1) (2) of the German Civil Code (BGB) and the question of how the still relatively new provision relates to previous case law on digital remote access.

Comment on the Bundeskartellamt-decision on Google data processing (05/10/2023 - B7-70/21)

In practical terms, the Bundeskartellamt-decision on Google data processing (05/10/2023 - B7-70/21) means that Alphabet must grant its users a comprehensive right of choice regarding cross-service data processing. In her comment published in WuW 12/2023, Tabea Bauermeister highlights that the comparison with previous proceedings based on Section 19 of the German Competition Act and with the Digital Markets Act is at least as interesting as these practical benefits.

On November 1st, a short version of said presentation was published on Ars Iuris Vienna – Blog: https://arsiuris.univie.ac.at/blog/detailansicht-blog/news/rights-of-nature-nothing-but-symbolism/

Lecture "Sec. 327p Para. 1 Sentence 2 of the German Civil Code – Moderate Development or System Disruption?"