The in plane critical current density j_c (B, Θ, T) of dc-sputtered YBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇-films and YBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇/ PrBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇-superlattices was measured in dependence of the angle Θ between the magnetic field [Formula: see text] and the [Formula: see text]-axis of the films in two orientations: 1. The current direction is parallel to the axis of rotation (i.e. [Formula: see text] always). 2. The current flows perpendicular to the axis of rotation (i. e. [Formula: see text]). For low temperatures we do not find any difference between the two current orientations, and the critical current density [Formula: see text] behaves like j_c (B cos Θ, 0°). For higher temperatures the two cases differ from each other for Θ near to the maxima in j_c at 90° and 270° for the YBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇-films whereas for YBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇/ PrBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇-superlattices we hardly find any change for both experimental setups. We compare the behaviour of the experimental results for the two orientations for the YBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇-films and YBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇/ PrBa ₂ Cu ₃ O ₇-superlattices and discuss the temperature dependence of the intrinsic pinning force density.