Copyright vs. property rights: German ruling on the demolition of a building
⚖️️The Brandenburg Higher Regional Court ruled in a judgment 6 U 58/22 that the demolition of a building does not infringe the copyright of the architects.
🏢 At the heart of the legal dispute was the question of whether a building could be demolished to make way for a modern new building. The architects who opposed the demolition of the building invoked their copyright, while the housing construction company emphasised its obligation to promote social housing.
🏡 The court emphasised that architects must always take into account the changing needs of owners when designing buildings. In the present case, the interest in creating more and more contemporary living space was given greater weight than the preservation of the existing building. From the decision:
🏗️ “In this respect, it must be taken into account that the architect who designs, plans and supervises the construction of a building in return for remuneration knows that the owner wishes to use the building for a specific purpose. He must therefore expect that, in exercising his copyright, he will be confronted with the property interests of others and that the owner’s changing needs may give rise to a need for changes. Therefore, the author’s interest in the continued existence of a building generally takes second place to the interests of the building owner in using the building for other purposes and the associated destruction of the work of art.”
🇦🇹 🥨 This essentially corresponds to the legal situation in Austria: The owner is not obliged to ensure the preservation of a copyright-protected work. In the conflict between copyright and property rights, the interests of the common good – in this case in the form of social housing – may therefore take precedence, even if this means the loss of a copyright-protected work.
Disclaimer: This article is merely general information and not legal advice from ATTYS 05 Rechtsanwälte GmbH; it cannot and is not intended to replace individual legal advice. ATTYS 05 Rechtsanwälte GmbH assumes no liability whatsoever for the content and accuracy of the blog post.