As of: February 8, 2024, 4:21 p.m
By: Fabian Hartmann
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The Dresden Regional Court did not grant Böhmermann's application for a waiver in the legal dispute with a beekeeper.
Now the ZDF presenter could appeal.
Dresden – The TV presenter Jan Böhmermann is in a legal dispute with a beekeeper from Meißen in Saxony.
Essentially, this is about the question of how far satirical advertising can encroach on the personal rights of prominent people.
There is now a first legal answer to this with the ruling of the Dresden Regional Court.
The Dresden regional court decided this Thursday not to grant Böhmermann's demand for a ban on advertising, reports the
German Press Agency
(dpa).
Böhmermann had filed an application for a decree against the beekeeper from Meißen before the regional court because a picture of the TV presenter adorned an advertisement published by the beekeeper.
A civil judge ruled in favor of the Meissen beekeeper and honey producer across the board and rejected Böhmermann's application for a waiver by means of an interim injunction.
The moderator of the
ZDF Magazin Royale
cannot assert any injunctive relief due to violation of his personal rights with regard to his name and image.
However, the verdict of the Dresden Regional Court is not yet legally binding, so Böhmermann still has the opportunity to appeal against the verdict.
“Beewashing” honey was created as a satirical response to Böhmermann's broadcast
The beekeeper Rico Heinzig released his product called “Beewashing Honey” as a satirical reaction to Böhmermann's
ZDF Magazin Royale
broadcast on November 3, 2023, in which Heinzig also played a role.
At that time, Böhmermann called the beekeeper by name and also showed his picture to the public without Heinzig's consent.
Böhmermann's contribution was about criticism of companies that allegedly engage in “beewashing”.
The term is a creation of Böhmermann, with which he alludes to the so-called greenwashing that some companies practice in order to give themselves an environmentally friendly appearance.
The reason for Böhmermann's high-profile accusation at the time was to ban Rico Heinzig's company from selling so-called Beewashing honey and advertising for it.
The Dresden Regional Court sees Böhmermann's personal rights as being protected
After the Dresden district court had weighed up Böhmermann's personal rights, it rated the protection of these rights as no higher than the interests of organic beekeeping.
In its ruling, the regional court referred to the so-called art copyright law: According to this, images may be published without the consent of the person concerned, “if they can be assigned to contemporary history and the legitimate interests of the person depicted are not violated,” explained the judge.
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Prize winner Jan Böhmermann at the German Television Awards 2022 ceremony © IMAGO/Malte Ossowski/SVEN SIMON
This was assumed.
In the present case, it is a picture from the public sector that Böhmermann shows in front of an audience of millions as part of his professional activity and not as a private person.
Beekeeper changed label of “Beewashing” honey after Böhmermann’s request – now he can use it again
After Heinzig did not want to sign a cease-and-desist declaration from Böhmermann, the ZDF presenter submitted an application for a waiver to the Dresden regional court.
In mid-January, both sides had already rejected a settlement at a conciliation hearing in court.
The following week, the beekeeper from Meißen changed the label of his “Beewashing Honey”.
In the court's opinion, he had found, as the reasoning behind the judgment put it, a "suitable means" of satirically dealing with the report that Böhmermann had broadcast on
ZDF Magazin Royale
on November 3rd for a limited time .
The judge emphasized that Böhmermann had “unasked and mockingly exposed Heinzig to unfairness in front of an audience of millions.”
The satirical approach of Heinzig's reaction is also clearly visible to the public due to the concept of the program.
In addition, Böhmermann is known throughout Germany as a moderator who deliberately exaggerates the facts.
There are repeated public discussions about Böhmermann's appearances and criminal charges against the moderator.
It was only in July last year that ZDF distanced itself from a tweet by Böhmermann in which he had attacked the CDU.
(
Fabian Hartmann)