Until recently, children in Germany were restricted in how loud they could be when playing, and being too loud could land someone in court.

For a private household, there is the ever-present problem of the local Rühezeiten, but if a group of children were playing together, then their level of noise could put them on a par with a factory building.

So building a playground or even a Kindergarten near a housing estate was a risky business, because there was always the chance that someone might start proceedings just because the children were too loud.

Of course, you could wonder who would be so annoyed by the sound of children playing, that they feel the need to go to court.

But, as they say, the law’s the law and (more…)

The town of Oberursel has issued some guidelines and rules for parents who plan to visit the Hessentag with their children.

Some of it is just common sense, but for those planning to visit a concert in particular there are some points worth knowing.

Here is a short summary:

1. Children under 14 will only allowed into the concerts if accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Children under 6 will be refused entry.

2. Young children in particular should be advised that they cannot gather in front of the audience.

3. The concerts can get loud – parents are advised to take ear plugs with them for their children! (more…)

I often see blogs from other countries that contain photos that appear to have been taken in public spaces and then used to illustrate new posts, and I am sure that many of those authors don’t give a second thought to using them.

And yet using such photos on German blogs can lead to all sorts of complicated issues, which fall under a variety of categories.  However the phrase use are most likely to hear is the “Recht am eigenen Bild” – the right to one’s own image.

There are situations that are probably just obvious.  Using someone else’s photo without asking would infringe on their copyright, something that most people understand.  But these days people are more “up” on what copyright is and defend it accordingly. (more…)