Remuneration obligation for music at Turkish wedding

As is well known, public performance of protected musical works is subject to remuneration. In the case to be decided by the Local Court (AG) Bochum, the rights holder (presumably the Association for Musical Performance and Mechanical Reproduction Rights – GEMA) brought claims for damages against the organiser of a large wedding with 600 guests because protected music was performed by a live band during the celebration. The action was ultimately dismissed – AG Bochum, judgment of 20.01.2009, Az. 65 C 403/08.

The dispute concerned in particular whether the Turkish wedding with approximately 600 guests was a closed event, since the remuneration obligation pursuant to § 15 Abs. 2 UrhG presupposes that the performance takes place "in public".

The concept of the public is defined by § 15 Abs. 3 UrhG as follows:

Performance is public if it is intended for a plurality of members of the public. The public includes anyone who is not connected by personal relationships with the person exploiting the work, or with the other persons to whom the work is made perceptible or accessible in non-corporeal form.

This means that an event such as a wedding is not public if the circle of participating persons is limited in number and these persons are personally connected to each other or with the organiser.

The court's decision

According to the Local Court (AG) Bochum's view, this was precisely the situation in this case. The concept of personal connection was not to be understood narrowly in the sense of familial or friendly relationships. Rather, the decisive factor was the close mutual contact that was conveyed through the personal invitation of the persons.

In this regard, the extent of admission controls was not decisive, which is why the (theoretical) possibility that strangers might gain access to the event does not result in the event being public within the meaning of § 15 Abs. 3 UrhG. The same applies to the large number of guests (approximately 600), since weddings of this scale are not uncommon in Turkish cultural circles.