Liability of a Web Designer for the Creation of a Homepage

In the design of a homepage, the use of photographs is customary. Web designers have inspection and notification duties in this regard. This was decided by the Regional Court (LG) Bochum.

A web designer was commissioned to create a homepage. In creating the homepage, he used a freely licensed photograph that he had in his collection. The web designer did not check whether the use of the photograph was subject to a fee or whether it could only be used on the Internet subject to attribution of the corresponding author. Furthermore, he failed to instruct his client about the copyright rights existing in the photograph.

Thereafter, the web designer's client was warned by the photographer due to missing author attribution. The client sought to recover the damage thus incurred from the web designer and sued him.

The court's decision on the web designer's liability

The LG Bochum ordered the web designer to pay damages and pre-litigation attorney's fees. With Urteil vom 16.08.2016 – Az. 9 S 17/16the LG Bochum affirmed a breach of duty arising from the contract concluded between the web designer and his client for the creation of a homepage.

The web designer should have checked the photograph from his collection before use to determine whether the use was subject to a fee and could be provided to the client, or whether the photograph could only be used on the Internet subject to attribution of the corresponding source or author.

Furthermore, the web designer also had a duty to inform his client as to whether copyright rights exist in the images placed on the homepage and whether the use is free of charge or not.

Summary

A web designer faces liability for damages if copyrighted images protected by copyright are used without authorisation in the creation of a homepage for a client. Clients must also be informed as to whether the use of images placed on the homepage is free of charge or not. A web designer should take the inspection and information duties seriously in his work in order to avoid liability.