The 12th Civil Chamber of the Düsseldorf Regional Court, under its chairwoman Jutta von Gregory, has awarded the plaintiff damages for copying works of art (Düsseldorf Regional Court, judgment of August 14, 2024, case no. 12 O 156/24).
The plaintiff is suing the defendant for damages amounting to 26,000 euros for copyright infringement. He is an internationally active and successful artist and the author of the paintings “Burgundy Nights”, “Horizon” and “Life Below Water”, among others.
The defendant is also an artist and created his own paintings based on the motifs of the plaintiff’s aforementioned paintings, which he signed with his own name and sold. He claims that he only made private copies, using the plaintiff’s style as a guide for practice purposes.
In its judgment of August 14, 2024, the Chamber awarded the plaintiff damages in the amount of EUR 26,000. The Chamber stated in this regard that the defendant had culpably infringed the plaintiff’s copyrights on the three images in dispute.
This is because the defendant copied the plaintiff’s artwork without his consent and then sold it and published it on his Instagram channel. The overall impression of the defendant’s adaptations was consistent with the originals, and the defendant’s own creative work could not be recognized. When determining the amount of the damages awarded, the Chamber based its decision on the hypothetical license fees that could be claimed.
The judgment is not final. The defendant can appeal against the judgment, which would be decided by the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court.
Press release of the LG Düsseldorf dated 14.08.2024 (No. 5/2024)
