Overview
- The Federal Court of Justice, which ruled Thursday, voided a Netflix term that made cancellations wait until gift-card credit was used up.
- Judges classified streaming subscriptions as service contracts under German law, not rentals, which brings stricter limits on contract lock-in.
- The court said the clause could trap users for many months, in some cases up to 39 months, and noted there was no option to pause membership.
- Customers with voucher balances now have the same right to end memberships as others, and leftover credit is not supposed to disappear.
- The written judgment and Netflix’s contract changes are still pending, and refund questions for unused third-party vouchers remain case by case while the ruling is expected to guide other providers.