Right to Recognition of Authorship – BGH I ZR 102/23
Even if authorship is contested only towards the author, this can still constitute a violation of copyright. The Federal Court of Justice ruled on June 27, 2024, making this clear (Case No.: I ZR 102/23).
According to § 13 of the Copyright Act (UrhG), the author has the right to recognition of their authorship. This allows them to determine whether they should be credited as the author of the work and what designation should be used, as stated by the law firm MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte, which advises on intellectual property law, including copyright. The BGH has now clarified that this right is violated when authorship is contested only towards the author.
Several individuals may be involved in creating a work, complicating the determination of authorship. The BGH recently had to decide such a matter in a dispute between an author and his editor.
Editor Claims Authorship
The plaintiff was a writer who, in 2013, negotiated with the defendant to edit his new book. A year later, the book was published by the author’s own publishing company. In 2020, the editor contacted the author and immediately claimed authorship of the book. In her letter to the author, she argued that she had neither a written contract nor any other agreement with the author. Therefore, she asserted her existing claims in full, including entitlement to royalties and authorship. Furthermore, she demanded that the author refrain from identifying himself as the author of the work.
In response, the author demanded that the editor cease claiming that he was not the author of the work to third parties. She was also prohibited from identifying herself as the author or ghostwriter of the book. Out-of-court negotiations failed, leading the case to be heard by the Regional Court of Bremen. The author felt that the editor’s statements violated his right to recognition of authorship under § 13 UrhG. However, his lawsuit was unsuccessful at first instance and on appeal before the Higher Regional Court (OLG) of Bremen.
Appeal Fails at OLG Bremen
The OLG clarified that contesting authorship generally gives rise to a claim for injunction. However, this requires that such denial of authorship be publicly disseminated, not just communicated to the author. This limitation stems from § 13 UrhG as a right of the author’s personality and its similarity to general personality rights, the OLG explained. It protects against being misrepresented by spreading untrue facts or creating false connections. Based on these standards, there was no copyright infringement in the underlying case, according to the OLG Bremen.
This reasoning did not hold up in the appeal before the BGH. The judges in Karlsruhe made it clear that under § 13 sentence 1 UrhG, an author has the right to recognition of their authorship in the work. Therefore, the author has the authority to challenge anyone who disputes this right.
BGH Finds Copyright Infringement
The defendant disputed the plaintiff’s authorship in her letter and claimed authorship for herself. While this letter was directed only to the plaintiff and the defendant did not publicly dispute the plaintiff’s authorship, the BGH clarified that this still constituted a violation of § 13 UrhG. According to the BGH, this provision does not restrict the author’s right to recognition. Thus, it is not a prerequisite that authorship must also be disputed publicly to constitute a violation. The right to recognition of authorship is affected regardless of whether the dispute over authorship is directed solely to the author or is also disseminated to third parties, according to the BGH.
Nevertheless, the author’s lawsuit was unsuccessful. The plaintiff had only addressed the defendant’s claims to third parties. Claims by the plaintiff due to denial of authorship solely directed at him were not part of the proceedings, the BGH stated.
For legal disputes in copyright or other intellectual property matters, MTR Legal Rechtsanwälte is your competent contact.
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