Hengeler Mueller represents The Ascott Limited/Citadines in landmark copyright case before the CJEU and Munich Higher Regional Court

The Ascott Limited, one of the world's leading hospitality providers headquartered in Singapore, operates an apartment hotel in Munich under the Citadines brand. The independent management entity MPLC, which claims the copyrights of major Hollywood studios, has sued Citadines for injunctive relief to prevent the transmission of program signals to TVs in the hotel rooms. At the end of the oral hearing on 18 December 2025, the Munich Higher Regional Court, on appeal by Citadines, overturned the Munich Regional Court's judgment in favor of MPLC and dismissed MPLC's claim. It had previously referred a question on the interpretation of European copyright law to the CJEU (C-723/22 – Citadines). The decision is not final.

Hengeler Mueller successfully represented Citadines before the CJEU and the Munich Higher Regional Court.

Hengeler Mueller team for The Ascott Limited/Citadines

TMT: Tobias Schubert (lead, Berlin), Albrecht Conrad (London, both Partner), Gesa Tamcke (senior associate), Maarten van der Werf, Johannes Weigl (both associate, all Berlin).