Munich Regional Court I on “unlawful tracing”

Munich Regional Court I has deemed the lawsuit filed by a graphic designer against FC Bayern Munich to be well-founded. The graphic designer had adapted the well-known footballers Franck Ribéry and Arjen Robben into a version of Batman and Robin. The figures were displayed in the fan curve of the Allianz Arena in 2015 with the slogan “The Real Badmen & Robben”. Bayern Munich subsequently sold merchandising items featuring the same slogan and similarly drawn figures. The court has now confirmed the graphic designer’s view that the combination of figures and slogan constitutes a copyright-protected work. If the judgment becomes final, FC Bayern will have to provide the graphic designer with information about the profits made – and subsequently pay damages (Munich Regional Court I, judgment of September 9, 2020, case no. 21 O 15821/19).

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