Once there was more tinsel – Now available as a shirt too

The decorated Christmas tree is a centuries-old Christmas tradition. Not only in the good parlour of the Hoppenstedt family is the tree decorated lovingly anew each year. Colourful baubles, candles and… tinsel?

Grandfather Hoppenstedt in Loriot's Christmas sketch sums it up: "Once there was more tinsel!" And that is no longer true only for the Christmas tree. Everything used to be better. Every grandfather will be able to confirm this again and again at Christmas.

The sentence would work well – not only at Christmas – on a T-shirt, thought a manufacturer. However, Loriot's heirs were less amused by the idea and sued the manufacturer. They were of the opinion that the phrase "Früher war mehr Lametta" had its own quality as a work and was therefore protected by copyright. However, the courts saw it differently.

No copyright protection for "Früher war mehr Lametta"

By means of decision dated 14.08.2019 – 6 W 927/19 the Higher Regional Court (OLG) Munich confirmed the decision of the lower court.

According to the courts' view, the sentence in itself – even applying the standard of the so-called "small change" – could not, for lack of originality, be qualified as a literary work within the meaning of copyright law. It only acquired its peculiarity and originality through embedding in the sketch and the situational comedy. Without taking this circumstance into account and the fact that the sentence came from Loriot, it would rather be a trivial sentence that either simply expresses the fact that more tinsel was used in the past or that there was more decoration, glamour, festive atmosphere or the like in the past.

Conclusion

Loriot's "Christmas with the Hoppenstedts" has cult status. The courts are evidently in agreement on this as well. However, this does not help Grandfather Hoppenstedt's saying. That is why anyone is permitted to print it on T-shirts and mugs and, in a manner of speaking, provide "more tinsel".