Third-party texts and images are used thousands of times every day. Regardless of whether these uses are lawful or unlawful, an elementary obligation of copyright law is regularly forgotten: The naming of the author.
This has often led to disputes, particularly in the field of photography law, which have often resulted in injunctions and judgments for damages.
Copyright attribution is required by law
The designation of the author is regulated in § 13 UrhG:
The author has the right to acknowledge his authorship of the work. He can determine whether the work is to be provided with an author’s designation and which designation is to be used.
The type of use is not decisive. The copyright applies to every type of use (with further reference to BGH, Urt. v. 16.06.1994, file no.: I ZR 3/92 – Right of attribution of the architect). Attribution is therefore required, for example, both when sending a photo and when displaying it on the Internet.
The type and scope of the attribution depend on the agreement made. If no such agreement exists, the designation must be made in such a way that the work can be clearly attributed to its creator. This is usually done by naming the author directly on the work or in a specially designated place. It is important that the author can be attributed to a specific work at any time.
Further information on use
The author attribution should not be confused with the frequently occurring copyright indication “©”. This originates from American law and merely designates the rights/license holder (e.g. the picture agency). However, this does not necessarily have to be the author. This means that it may be necessary to name both the author and the rights holder.
The naming of the source of the respective work must also be distinguished from the naming of the author. In some cases, this must be done independently of the copyright attribution in accordance with Section 63 UrhG.
Missing naming can be expensive
If the author’s right to be named is infringed, this can be done either by not naming him or by naming him incorrectly. This gives rise to claims for injunctive relief, information and damages. These claims can sometimes result in high compensation and legal costs. Courts usually add up to 100% of the actual license costs on top.