lawyer Archive – Kanzlei Hoesmann

In our firm we currently have an official warning letter from the Berlin-based lawyer Philipp Bickel. In his letter Bickel alleges copyright infringement on behalf of his client, a Dutch photographer, in relation to a picture he took in Dubai. Dros became aware of the infringement after utilising the services of PhotoClaim. Bickel is currently pursuing the matter in the US, arguing for the application of German copyright law.

Our client, an American business, is accused of displaying the Dubai picture on their website over a ten-month period without permission. Consequently, Bickel demands the payment of compensation totalling €3041.50, which he justifies with reference to the so-called MFM-list (explained below). „Bickel’s Copyright Infringement Warning – or how to turn EUR 29 into EUR 3041.50“ weiterlesen

Many photographers are not aware of the fact that when buildings, people or brands are publically photographed in germany, the rights of third party persons must always be considered. However, this of course does not mean that there is a general public photography ban.

So how does it look in this case for the rights of the photographer and what is to be considered when taking pictures of buildings, logos and people in the public domain?

Pictures of buildings

Outdoor shots in public are basically unproblematic in so far as the photo only contains the facade of the subject matter and that the photo was taken in public. This is known as a panoramic freedom or Panoramafreiheit in German. The public domain consists of only the so-called ‘street perspective’. As soon as the picture goes beyond this, for example when a building or private property is entered into, the panoramic freedom no longer applies. The consent of the property or home owner must be given for images taken from the inside of a buildin. „Photographs of buildings, people and brands in public“ weiterlesen