copyright

Protection, prohibitions, and consequences
Copyright is the legal protection for intellectual creations—from texts and music to paintings and photos. Unfortunately, many people, especially younger ones, are unsure how to deal with this right or interpret it in their own way. However, ignorance does not protect you from the consequences!

This right serves to protect and honor creative achievements and to ensure that creators receive recognition and an economic basis for their work.


What copyright protects
Copyright protects the work. This can be a photo, an article, a text, a graphic, a composition, or a video.

It also protects moral rights.
The creator's conceptual relationship to their work. For photographers, it protects in particular the personal intellectual creation in the choice of framing, perspective, lighting, and moment. Simpler photos (photographs) also enjoy related protection.


What you are NOT allowed to do without the author's consent
The creator has exclusive exploitation rights. Without the express consent (license) of the author, you may not perform the following actions:

Reproduce
Copying, digitizing, or transferring the work to other data carriers (for example, saving a photo from a website or copying a text). Distributing: Offering the original or copies of the work for sale to the public or putting them into circulation.

Make publicly available
Making the work available to the public via the Internet (for example, uploading a song to YouTube or posting a picture on social media).

Edit or redesign
Modify, translate, or transform the work (for example, crop a photo, alter it with filters, or rewrite a text).

Performing, presenting, or broadcasting
Present the work publicly.

Anyone who performs these actions without permission is violating copyright law.


Consequences of copyright infringement
Copyright infringement can result in severe penalties. Financial claims: Infringers may be subject to injunctions and damages.

High costs
Three- to four-figure sums per photo are not uncommon, and that's before legal fees are taken into account. The aim is to leave economic control of the work with the creator and to protect their rights.

The entire content of this page is protected by copyright and may not be used without permission. However, sharing the link to the original website is expressly encouraged!

Due to the complexity and the completely changed media landscape, copyright law urgently needs to be revised. Until then, however, the current legal situation applies.


I also respect and honor copyright law.
If, despite all the care I have taken in my work, anyone feels that their rights have been infringed, please contact me so that the matter can be clarified.

All content - © Thilo Plaesser, 2025
(unless otherwise specified)

Together, we can ensure that everyone's creative achievements are protected and appreciated.


Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.