Hengeler Mueller represents The Ascott Limited (Citadines) in landmark copyright litigation before the CJEU and Munich Higher Regional Court

Hengeler Mueller represented The Ascott Limited, operator of the Citadines apartment hotel in Munich, in litigation concerning the retransmission of programme signals to hotel-room televisions. The dispute arose when the independent management entity MPLC, which asserts copyrights on behalf of major Hollywood studios, sued Citadines for injunctive relief to prevent the transmission of programme signals to televisions in the hotel’s rooms. The Munich Regional Court had initially ruled in favour of MPLC. The case was then referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (C-723/22 – Citadines) on a question of interpretation of European copyright law. Following the CJEU reference and the subsequent proceedings, at the conclusion of the oral hearing on 18 December 2025 the Munich Higher Regional Court, on appeal by Citadines, overturned the Regional Court’s judgment in favour of MPLC and dismissed MPLC’s claim. The decision is not final. Hengeler Mueller represented The Ascott Limited/Citadines with a team composed by: TMT: Tobias Schubert (lead, Berlin), Albrecht Conrad (London, both Partner), Gesa Tamcke (senior associate), Maarten van der Werf, Johannes Weigl (both associate, all Berlin).

Hengeler Mueller represents The Ascott Limited (Citadines) in landmark copyright litigation before the CJEU and Munich Higher Regional Court

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