Parody and free use in Germany: Federal Court of Justice decides first parody case after Deckmyn

Say you want to digitally manipulate a photo to send it in for an online contest, are you violating the original photographer’s copyright, if you don’t ask for permission? In Germany, the main question is whether your reworking of the picture qualifies as “free use”. However, if you parody the photo in question, European copyright law also comes into play. This post looks at a recent decision of the German Federal Court of Justice that clarifies how European norms shape German copyright and its treatment of parodies.