GRAEF Rechtsanwälte

The firm

GRAEF Rechtsanwälte was founded by Dr Ralph Oliver Graef in September 2008. The firm has specialised since day one in entertainment, media and IP, in particular film and television, press and publishing, and computer games. The firm’s presence has been continuously increased in neighbouring areas such as IT and data protection and staffed accordingly.

Areas of practice

GRAEF Rechtsanwälte, located in Hamburg and Berlin, specialises in high-end legal advice on complex matters in the areas of media, entertainment and intellectual property. All attorneys draw on many years of industry experience in various media sectors. Clients are leading German and international media companies such as film producers, rights traders, television stations including IPTV, book and magazine publishers, advertising agencies, publishers of computer games, internet companies and lifestyle companies. The firm also represents celebrities and companies in protecting their privacy and publicity rights in libel and slander cases, as well as artists, including authors, actors, directors, photographers, designers, game developers, etc, in protecting their creative works.

GRAEF Rechtsanwälte is recommended by the leading directories for attorneys, JUVE and The Legal 500, for the areas of news media and publishing and TV, film and entertainment (The Legal 500 directory, JUVE Directory of Commercial Law Firms, Legal Experts Europe, Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers). Dr Ralph Oliver Graef has been recognised as one of Germany’s best attorneys in entertainment law (Deutschlands beste Anwälte) by Handelsblatt/Best Lawyers in 2013 until 2023.

Apart from regular articles, the firm has been extensively writing legal handbooks for leading German publisher of law books Beck Verlag, and has contributed to leading commentaries such as: Recht der E-Books und Electronic Publishing, Beck Verlag, 2016; Rechtssichere Werbung, Haufe Verlag, 2. Auflage 2014 (1. Auflage 2009); Schutz des Presseverlegers, §§ 87 f-h, Möhring/Nicolini, Urheberrecht, Kommentar, 3. Auflage 2014; Recht der Computerspiele, C.H. Beck, 1. Auflage 2013.