In a decree (http://www NULL.bundesverfassungsgericht NULL.de/entscheidungen/rs20131023_1bvr184211 NULL.html) published on 28 November and summarized in an accompanying press release (http://www NULL.bundesverfassungsgericht NULL.de/pressemitteilungen/bvg13-071 NULL.html), the German Federal Constitutional Court (BGH) rejected an appeal by the publishing house Hanser-Verlag against the decision of the Federal Supreme Court (BGH) relating to the remuneration of literary translators and their underlying terms under copyright contract law.
Hinrich Schmidt-Hinkel, chairman of the German Association of Literary Translators, VDÜ, commented (http://www NULL.literaturuebersetzer NULL.de/download/presse/pm-entscheidung-bundesverfassungsgericht-2013 NULL.pdf): ‘We essentially welcome this decree and we naturally await its interpretation by legal experts. Furthermore, we assume that our negotiations regarding the remuneration, which were suspended by the publishing house in question until the release of this decision, will now proceed quickly. This is the appropriate and most reasonable way to reconcile the interests of both parties.’