The technical framework conditions of the ERVV concretise the standard for file formats that can be processed in court, but are not conclusive – Dr. Rudolf Böckenholt discusses a ruling by the Mannheim District Court in his latest GRUR-Prax article.

In issue 20/2020, Dr. Rudolf Böckenholt explains the decision of the Mannheim District Court (LG Mannheim), according to which the mere infringement of the legal requirements regarding file formats in electronic legal transactions with the courts does not mean that the document is deemed not to have been submitted, provided that the court can actually process the submitted format. The procedural document in DOCX format submitted in the dispute could be used as a representative document in PDF/A format due to the technical capabilities of the court. Dr. Rudolf Böckenholt describes that the litigant concerned was lucky in these proceedings, but that the decision cannot be generalised.

The magazine GRUR-Prax can be obtained from the publisher. Further details can be found here.