Although biobanks are vital for modern medical research, serious concerns have been raised about the legal basis and framework of such endeavours. This led the German 'Telematics Platform for Medical Research Networks' ('Telematikplattform für Medizinische Forschungsnetze', TMF) to initiate a project in 2004 that was designed to place German biobanks on a sound legal footing. This project involved the planning, writing and evaluation of an expert report that addresses in great detail the legal issues concerning property rights, medical professional regulations, general liability insurance, resource continuity and research secrecy. Here, we provide a brief summary of the major results of this project.