How far does copyright protection go in our digital and visual society? This was the question addressed by the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof – BGH) in its ruling of October 23, 2024 (I ZR 67/23). The case concerned the application of “freedom of panorama” (Section 59 Copyright Act (UrhG)) in a particular context. A collecting society for visual works had filed a lawsuit against a book publisher that publishes guides to mine dumps in the Ruhr region. The guides showed aerial images of various art installations on the mine dumps, which were taken with the aid of a drone. The creators of these art installations had entered into collection agreements with a collecting society. The collecting society was of the opinion that the installations shown infringed on the rights of the creators, as the aerial images were not covered by the freedom of panorama. Freedom of panorama is generally a restriction of copyright law that applies when a work is permanently located in public locations such as paths, streets, or squares. In such cases, reproduction is permitted without the creator’s consent.
Limitation of the freedom of panorama
The Federal Court of Justice, as the court of appeal in this case, ruled in favor of the claimant, stating that aerial images of copyright-protected works taken with drones are not covered by freedom of panorama. The judges found that Section 59 of the Copyright Act applies exclusively to views “from public paths, streets, or squares” and not to aerial images taken with special technical aids such as drones. This means that publishers, photographers, and media professionals must obtain authorization from creators if they make drone images of their work.
Technology-driven reinterpretation of copyright law
With their ruling, the judges in Karlsruhe have reopened and answered the question of the extent to which freedom of panorama applies. Based on this judgement, technological innovations such as drones do not justify a blanket extension of the legal limitations imposed by copyright law.
Evaluation of the judgement
The decision by the Federal Court of Justice creates legal clarity in an area that has so far had little legal attention yet is highly relevant in practice. It prevents the freedom of panorama from being unjustifiably extended to aerial images that could potentially be used commercially without the consent of the creator. The ruling can be seen as a step towards adapting copyright law to modern technologies and media practices. It offers creators additional protection in the digital age.
Picture credits: luna1904_AdobeStock.com
