In this case, the freedom of art is above the right of personality, decided the first civil senate of the German Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe. The case concerned the question of whether advertising for the musical “The Tina Turner Story” with the image of a double suggested the participation of the singer herself in the show. According to Turner, advertising posters with the photo of the double Dorothea “Coco” Fletcher gave the impression that she herself would be on stage or support the show on “Simply The Best – The Tina Turner Story” due to the similarity to the original. As a result, the superstar sued the organizer for an injunction – and was right in early 2020 before the Cologne Regional Court.
However, the Cologne Higher Regional Court reversed the verdict in the same year. In its decision, it weighted artistic freedom higher than the right to one’s own image and name – which has now been confirmed by the court in Karlsruhe.
Source: Nachrichten
