Copyright
for
“Katze Nö”.
Copyright
for
“Katze Nö”.
from
“Katze-Nö” drawing enjoys copyright protection. The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court confirmed the work character of the comic drawing and ruled out a double creation.
Personal intellectual creation
Copyright protection works enjoy protection as personal intellectual creations of the author. The decisive factor here is whether the work reaches a certain level of creativity. Comic drawings are generally protected by copyright as works of fine art.
An illustrator created a comic drawing of a cat depicted from behind, lying on the left side of its body and showing its outstretched middle finger with its right paw raised (“Cat Nope”). The illustrator then digitized and reworked her first draft in the form of a pencil drawing herself. At a later date, the illustrator uploaded the digital version to a print-on-demand provider’s website for use in return for payment. Some time later, a direct competitor and provider of personalized photo products printed products with an almost identical cat figure and various slogans for sale. This figure had been designed by their employee as a double creation. The illustrator’s out-of-court appeals were unsuccessful, so she contested the legal action. The action was dismissed at first instance. On the illustrator’s appeal, the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court upheld her claims for injunctive relief, destruction of the products and damages, among other things.
“Katze-Nö” has the required level of creativity
In its ruling of 13.02.2025 – 11 U 10/23, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt ruled in favor of the illustrator and confirmed the copyright protectability of the “Katze-Nö” drawing. In the court’s opinion, the illustration of the cat figure has the character of a work under copyright law.
The required originality can be seen in the fact that the central message of the picture has been visualized by combining a cat figure
, which is merely depicted in outline and perceived as cute, with a gesture that is depicted in concrete terms and perceived as negative.
The depiction is characterized by the fact that a cat lying on the left half of the body is depicted from behind with a few (stylized) strokes. In contrast to the trivialized representation of the subject by the protruding animal contours, the raised paw with an upwardly extended “middle finger” is commonly understood as a human sign of defamation or at least defense. In the opinion of the court, this contrast establishes the originality of the drawing and, as a result, its protectability under copyright law. The scope of protection also includes designs that only deviate from the original in minor details and thus convey an identical impression.
The court ruled out the double creation put forward by the infringing company. The defendant company was unable to rebut the prima facie evidence that the infringing drawing deliberately uses the illustrator’s work in the sense of plagiarism or as an unconscious borrowing.
Conclusion
Comic drawings are protected as works of fine art. The required originality of a stylized comic drawing can arise from the contrast between the figure and the gesture perceived as contradictory to it. Insignificant deviations in the design are not sufficient to rule out copyright infringement.
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