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German Court Rules Ad Block Plus Is Legal (Again)

AdBlock Plus still faces one more case in the country.

A German court has ruled in favor of browser plugin Adblock Plus once again, in a case brought against it by major media companies just a month after a separate court declared its ad blocking services legal.

Adblock's parent company Eyeo GmbH was sued this time by large television broadcasters ProSiebenSat.1 and RTL interactive. The case is the fourth brought against Adblock Plus by major publishers who take issue with the startup for cutting into their ad revenue, according to Adblock Plus. This time, rather than attack its ad blocking services outright, the companies targeted Adblock Plus's "Acceptable Ads" policy.

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The policy, meant to be a sort of compromise, allows certain ads it deems "non-intrusive" to get through the filter rather than blocking all ads outright. Companies whose ads do not fall under the specifications can get their ads whitelisted, sometimes for a fee, which both Google and Microsoft Bing have paid to do.

According to Ben Williams, a spokesperson for Adblock Plus, 90 percent of publishers don't pay fees to have their ads allowed. Williams said more than 400 million people have downloaded Adblock Plus (not to be confused with the similarly-named software Adblock).

The German court ruled that the service does not hinder competition because installing it is optional. It also said the startup, which currently has only 37 employees, doesn't have enough industry dominance to significantly affect publishers' ad revenues.

"We are elated at the decision reached today by the Munich court, which is another win for every internet user," Williams said in a statement. "It confirms each individual's right to block annoying ads, protect their privacy and, by extension, determine his or her own internet experience."

A spokesperson for ProSiebenSat.1 said it was a "sad day" for internet users and said the company is weighing additional action. A spokesperson for RTL also told BBC the company is "assessing the prospects of an appeal."

Meanwhile, Adblock Plus says it is working toward a compromise, encouraging advertisers to make ads "acceptable" under its program.

"We're pleased to say that Adblock Plus will continue to provide users with a tool that helps them control their internet experience," a spokesperson said in a statement. "At the same time we will endeavor to work with publishers, advertisers and content creators to encourage nonintrusive ads, discover new ways to make ads better and push forward to a more sustainable internet ecosystem."

There one remaining case against Adblock Plus, brought by company publishing company Axel Springer, which is slated to be decided on August 11 in Cologne.