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Minor nitpick: The ruling court was not "the German Supreme Court" (which there is no single direct equivalent - often the term is used for the Bundesverfassung

Minor nitpick: The ruling court was not "the German Supreme Court" (which there is no single direct equivalent - often the term is used for the Bundesverfassungsgericht but that's problematic on many levels). The court was the Bundesgerichtshof which is the highest court for civil cases. Best is the avoid the term "Supreme Court" at all when talking about the German court system.

Tomte 11y ago
The Bundesgerichtshof is also Supreme Court for criminal cases. The phrase "Supreme Court" is indeed problematic, since we have quite a few of them (administrative law, labor law, finance law, social law, plus BGH and BVerfG), but I think it's okay to call the Bundesgerichtshof so. More okay than calling our Federal Constitutional Court "Supreme Court", at least, since generally speaking the Constitutional Court is not "above" the other courts.
- germanier 11y ago
  I would be happy with calling it "a German supreme court" (which is maybe misleading but technically correct). The phrasing "the German Supreme Court" implies that there is only one and it's somewhat comparable to the US Supreme Court which are both wrong assumptions.
- justin66 11y ago
  > The phrase "Supreme Court" is indeed problematic, since we have quite a few of them The same thing is true in the United States. It's a term that can mean a few different things on the state level, depending on which state you're talking about.
manojlds 11y ago
which is the highest court for civil cases As a casual reader, then I am happy that they used Supreme Court. I don't want to know more about the German legal system to know that this could possibly be the highest court for such cases.
- chronial 11y ago
  Well, this ruling could still be challenged by the Bundesverfassungsgericht. So I think you are getting the wrong impression from "Supreme Court".
  - baldfat 11y ago
    > Bundesverfassungsgericht I always smile seeing long German words. I just imagine some fellow American being in a public setting and having to attempt to pronounce the word. I am a horrible speller and I feel I would be so much worst if I had to spell German words.
    - denzil_correa 11y ago
      In Germany, if a Youtube video isn't available - it shows that the video isn't available due to an organization named GEMA. I wondered what GEMA was and promptly searched to find out this. Sigh! > Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEMA_(German_organization) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEMA_(German_organization)
    - couchand 11y ago
      Not to get too far off-topic, but the mitigating factor is that German has quite regular pronunciation. As soon as you hear a new word you likely know exactly how it's spelled.
      - baldfat 11y ago
        As opposed to English!!! http://mentalfloss.com/article/49960/why-english-spelling-so-messed http://mentalfloss.com/article/49960/why-english-spelling-so...
        ajmurmann 11y ago
        German used to be more like that buta spelling reform in 1996 fixed many of these issues. All my spelling grades got significantly better (less terrible) once that happened.

Tomte 11y ago

The Bundesgerichtshof is also Supreme Court for criminal cases. The phrase "Supreme Court" is indeed problematic, since we have quite a few of them (administrative law, labor law, finance law, social law, plus BGH and BVerfG), but I think it's okay to call the Bundesgerichtshof so. More okay than calling our Federal Constitutional Court "Supreme Court", at least, since generally speaking the Constitutional Court is not "above" the other courts.

germanier 11y ago
I would be happy with calling it "a German supreme court" (which is maybe misleading but technically correct). The phrasing "the German Supreme Court" implies that there is only one and it's somewhat comparable to the US Supreme Court which are both wrong assumptions.
justin66 11y ago
> The phrase "Supreme Court" is indeed problematic, since we have quite a few of them The same thing is true in the United States. It's a term that can mean a few different things on the state level, depending on which state you're talking about.

manojlds 11y ago

which is the highest court for civil cases As a casual reader, then I am happy that they used Supreme Court. I don't want to know more about the German legal system to know that this could possibly be the highest court for such cases.

chronial 11y ago
Well, this ruling could still be challenged by the Bundesverfassungsgericht. So I think you are getting the wrong impression from "Supreme Court".
- baldfat 11y ago
  > Bundesverfassungsgericht I always smile seeing long German words. I just imagine some fellow American being in a public setting and having to attempt to pronounce the word. I am a horrible speller and I feel I would be so much worst if I had to spell German words.
  - denzil_correa 11y ago
    In Germany, if a Youtube video isn't available - it shows that the video isn't available due to an organization named GEMA. I wondered what GEMA was and promptly searched to find out this. Sigh! > Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEMA_(German_organization) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEMA_(German_organization)
  - couchand 11y ago
    Not to get too far off-topic, but the mitigating factor is that German has quite regular pronunciation. As soon as you hear a new word you likely know exactly how it's spelled.
    - baldfat 11y ago
      As opposed to English!!! http://mentalfloss.com/article/49960/why-english-spelling-so-messed http://mentalfloss.com/article/49960/why-english-spelling-so...
      - ajmurmann 11y ago
        German used to be more like that buta spelling reform in 1996 fixed many of these issues. All my spelling grades got significantly better (less terrible) once that happened.