GERMANY: Creating New Property Rights on the Basis of General Legal Concepts - Without Limits?

• Author: Thomas Dreier
• Position: Prof., Dr. iur., M. C. J. (New York University), Director, Institute for Information and Economic Law, Karlsruhe, Institute of Technology (KIT), and Honorary Professor, University of Freiburg, Germany..
• Pages: 152-156

2011

Thomas Dreier

152

2

Abstract: In two cases recently decided by two

different senates of the German Federal Supreme

Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH), the following issue

was raised: To what extent can the filming of sports

events organized by someone else, on the one hand,

and the photographing of someone else’s physical

property, on the other hand, be legally controlled by

the organizer of the sports event and the owner of

the property respectively? In its “Hartplatzhelden.

de” decision, the first senate of the Federal Supreme

Court concluded that the act of filming sports events

does not constitute an act of unfair competition as

such, and hence is allowed even without the con-

sent of the organizer of the sports event in question.

However, the fifth senate, in its “Prussian gardens

and parks” decision, held that photographing some-

one else’s property is subject to the consent of the

owner of the grounds, provided the photographs are

taken from a spot situated on the owner’s property.

In spite of their different outcomes, the two cases do

not necessarily contradict each other. Rather, read

together, they may well lead to an unwanted – and

unjustified – extension of exclusive protection, thus

creating a new “organizer’s” IP right.

GERMANY: Creating New Property

Rights on the Basis of General Legal

Concepts - Without Limits?

by Thomas Dreier, Karlsruhe

Prof., Dr. iur., M. C. J. (New York University), Director, Institute for Information and Economic Law, Karlsruhe,

Institute of Technology (KIT), and Honorary Professor, University of Freiburg, Germany..

© 2011 Thomas Dreier

Everybody may disseminate this ar ticle by electr onic means and make it ava ilable for download under the terms a nd

conditions of the Digit al Peer Publishing Licence (DPPL). A copy of the license tex t may be obtained at http://nbn-resolving.

de/urn:nbn:de:00 09-dppl-v3-en8 .

Recommended citati on: Thomas Dreier, GERMANY: Creating New Property Rights on the Basis of General Legal Concepts -

Without Limits?, 2 (2011) JIPITEC 152, para. 1.

A.

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   

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   



   

Keywords: Filming of amateur soccer games, unfair competition law, slavish imitation, taking unfair advantage

of the reputation of services; photographing private property from private grounds, property right to

the visual image of movable and immovable property, scope of the domiciliary right