Adblock Plus (And Other Ad-Blocking Software) Is Now Legal In Germany

AdBlock Plus has defeated German publishers in court, after publishers challenged it's right to suppress ads on their web pages.

The owners of Germany's Die Zeit and Handelsblatt had claimed that AdBlock Plus's product was anti-competitive and threatened their ability to make money, BBC reported.

However, the court said that users have the right to use a plug-in.

"The Hamburg court decision is an important one because it sets a precedent that may help us avoid additional lawsuits and expenses defending what we feel is an obvious consumer right: giving people the ability to control their own screens by letting them block annoying ads and protect their privacy," wrote AdBlock Plus's project manager, Ben Williams, on its blog.

"Now that the legalities are out of the way, we want to reach out to other publishers and advertisers and content creators and encourage them to work with Adblock Plus rather than against us."

The publishers added that they intend to fight on.

"We are still convinced that AdBlock Plus is an illegal and anti-competitive practice," they said in a joint statement.

"It infringes the freedom of the press. Therefore, we will await the written reasons for the judgment, analyze them and examine the prospects of an appeals procedure."