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Scene from »Das Boot« with Jürgen Prochnow, Erwin Leder (1981)
Photo: United Archives / kpa / picture alliance
After years of legal dispute, "Das Boot" cameraman Jost Vacano has apparently agreed on a settlement with the ARD broadcasters. According to media reports, all sides accepted the proposal of the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court on time. The Tagesspiegel referred to a conversation between the Evangelical Press Service (epd) and a court spokeswoman. Accordingly, Vacano subsequently receives a payment of 160,000 euros plus sales tax.
Vacano had originally agreed a flat fee of around 100,000 euros for the film produced by director Wolfgang Petersen. In 2002, a new legal regulation came into force, the so-called "fairness paragraph": If there is a "noticeable disproportion" between the remuneration and the income achieved, the author is entitled to retrospectively "appropriate participation". "Das Boot" received six Oscar nominations. In the early 1980s the film grossed several million euros in cinemas. Numerous television broadcasts followed. Vacano therefore found that he deserved more and demanded additional payment.
In 2018, the OLG Stuttgart awarded the cameraman a financial contribution for his work.
For the broadcast of the film on the public broadcasters, the court set a total remuneration of around 315,000 euros plus sales tax.
The broadcaster then went into revision.
The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) overturned the 2020 judgment due to a calculation error.
There were new negotiations at the OLG Stuttgart.
In addition to this case, there is another proceeding in which the cameraman sued Bavaria Film, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) and the video exploiter Eurovideo, who have broadcast »Das Boot« many times.
According to media reports, it was not initially possible to find out whether Bavaria and Eurovideo would also conclude a comparison.
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