Attorney Christlieb Klages from Berlin was a guest at the ITM at the end of April and gave a brilliant insight into his legal activities for documentary film in Germany. As a contract lawyer for AG Dok, he has provided legal advice to filmmakers for many years and represented the association in court and in collective bargaining negotiations with the public broadcasters. In his lecture to around 40 students, he explained how documentary films are anchored in copyright law and what barriers typically play a role for such films. In particular, he mentioned the freedom to quote and the freedom of reporting under Section 50 UrhG. Finally, he also addressed the current case law on the right to one’s own image.
The lecture took place as part of the farewell lecture on copyright law, after more than 30 years of teaching copyright law at the ITM will be discontinued. In May and June, other friends of the ITM will come to give farewell lectures, for example from the fields of musicology, Georgia and Brazil.
