IP News

Celebrity endorsement without consent:

What brands have to know, Christine Libor talks with W&V

Using a known face for commercial purpose without getting the person’s consent and paying for it is moving into a legal gray area. Media law expert Christine Libor from the FPS office in Düsseldorf addressed this subject in a guest opinion piece for W&V, which was prompted by a decision of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne in which the use of a photo of Jan Böhmermann by Computer-Bild magazine was ruled to be permissible. Ms. Libor, who does not see convincing justification for the ruling, examines two proceedings at the German Federal Court of Justice (FCJ) which are referred to in cases of this kind, If things were to stay that way, according to Ms. Libor, “... it would open the door to any celebrity endorsement without consent, and that would not be in the interests of the person concerned, nor would it follow the line of the FCJ rulings.”

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