Survival

What’s legal and what’s not?

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Arno Lampmann, partner at legal firm Lampmann, Behn and Rosenbaum, says there’s one basic rule of thumb in German copyright law: assume everything is illegal.

What should you do if you get a letter?

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Christian Solmecke: “First, you shouldn’t ignore it. But you shouldn’t necessarily just sign whatever cease-and-desist declarations they send you either. There are a lot of standard declarations (Unterlassungserklärungen) floating around in the internet. But you need to be careful, because not all law firms accept them.”

Who’s getting busted?

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Official stats for 2011 haven’t been released yet, but according to the Verein gegen den Abmahnwahn (Society Against the Cease-and-Desist Madness), around 575,000 letters were sent out in 2010, and Solmecke says there were likely at least as many last year. (42 percent were sent out regarding mp3 music files, 29 percent for movies, 22 percent porn, and the rest divided among software, video games and e-books.)

The lowdown on downloads

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Everyone knows someone that's received one of those terrifying letters – the ungodly demand that one coughs up huge wads of cash for downloading media. But why is it so risky in Germany? And what is to be done?

How to make it as an actor

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Want to be an actor? With 50 theatres, some 20 acting schools and the Babelsberg film studios, Berlin is the place to be. But climbing to the top is not easy. Exberliner outlines it for you.

Unofficial pirate den

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:00:00 GMT

HoC in up-and-coming Moabit was established in early 2011 by Michael Hartung, a Piratenpartei member and developer of the acoustic furniture company Agoraphil. The stylish foyer sets the tone of avant-garde professionalism found throughout the minimalist suites. The some-time pirate hideaway offers office space, a photo studio and conference room. A varied array of teachers, programmers and sign-makers won’t leave the 30-something chic-geek wanting, and with a 14:25 ratio of geeks to chic office spaces, this is Moabit’s co-space in the sky.

Community sharing

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:00:00 GMT

With a more arty, underground idea of co-sharing, the beginnings of the RAW-Tempel collective in 1998 are similar to that of many reclaimed industrial buildings in post-Wall Berlin. On the sprawling former railyard, three buildings – Beamtenwohnhaus, Verwaltungsgebäude and Stoffe u. Gerätelager – remain linked to the alternative project, while the rest of the complex has gone to private investors following bitter legal disputes.

The OG

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:00:00 GMT

When you think co-working in Berlin, you probably think Betahaus. Conceptualised in 2007 by forerunner Christoph Fahle, communications whiz Madeleine v. Mohl and lawyer Max v.d. Ahé, Betahaus launched on April 1, 2009. With about 2000sqm of working space, it occupies three floors of a boxy former GSG industrial building.

Berlin's coolest network

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:00:00 GMT

BCN is a global network of co-spaces with offices in India, Brazil, Austria and even the Mojave Desert. Manu Kumar, architect by profession and administrator of the Business Class Network, established the Berlin port in 2006-2007. Set up as one of the pioneers in interdisciplinary entrepreneurship, BCN-Berlin is secreted within a courtyard off lively Kottbusser Damm.