Photos are often created on commission and then passed on within a project. A ruling by the Hamburg Regional Court (judgment of February 15, 2024, case no.: 310 O 221/23) shows that this is not permissible without further ado. In the case decided, a company had to pay 9,150 euros for the use of five photographs that had been passed on without the photographer’s consent and used for its own advertising purposes.

The background to the case

A professional photographer had taken professional photos of a trade fair stand on behalf of a trade fair exhibitor. The client was granted the right to use the photos for his own purposes. In addition, he was permitted to pass the photos on to press and PR media. However, it was not part of the agreement to pass them on to other project partners.

A company involved in the trade fair project nevertheless received the photos and used them on its own website for advertising purposes over a longer period of time. The photographer was not named and received no remuneration.

Why the use was not permitted

The court clarified that a right of use only extends as far as it has been agreed. Even if a client may use photos for themselves for an unlimited period of time and space, this does not automatically mean that they may pass the images on to other companies.

In this specific case, the decisive factor was that the transfer to project partners was expressly only intended in return for additional remuneration and this was not paid. The company using the images could therefore not claim that it had obtained the images legally “via detours”.

How the court arrived at the sum of 9,150 euros

The court based its decision on the usual prices charged by the photographer for comparable uses. For the use of a single photo on a company website, it set an amount of 915 euros per image. The court considered this valuation to be reasonable in view of the professional quality of the photographs.

In addition, the photographer was not named when the image was used. The court assumed that a photographer would demand additional remuneration for not naming the photographer. The amount per photo was therefore doubled.

Based on five pictures, this resulted in a total sum of 9,150 euros.

Classification of the decision

The decision shows that courts carefully examine the limits of usage rights. Internal project participation or a joint external appearance is not sufficient to use third-party photos without separate permission.

The amount awarded results from a factual consideration of the number of photos, duration of use, intended use and lack of attribution. It is within what is considered reasonable for professional photography.

Classification for practical use

For photographers, the ruling confirms that unauthorized sharing of their images is not a trivial matter. For companies, it makes it clear that they cannot rely solely on statements or forwarding from project partners, but must check whether they are actually allowed to use the images themselves.