Well, well, copyright for a slogan.
According to the preliminary relief judge in the Hague, Bavaria’s slogan from 1985, “Well, first a Bavaria” is copyright protected and puts “Well, first off to the cloud” by Your Hosting in violation of that copyright. A developed invention of thought – like a slogan – is rather swiftly copyright protected in the Netherlands, so long as it is original (= not borrowed) and utilises creativity. Dutch courts have often assessed the question of whether a certain slogan is protected by copyright. A classic example is the slogan “Free your car – as fast as a fly – from firmly fixed flying insects”. In 1968, the preliminary relief judge in the Hague found this slogan to have “a sufficient degree of originality for attracting the public” and for protection by copyright. 50 years later, the District Court of the Hague found Bavaria’s slogan “concise and ‘catchy’, with a certain wittiness for which the creator made free and uniquely creative choices.” Your Hosting tried to detract from the originality of the slogan; the slogan is in plain, standard Dutch. However, Your Hosting could not produce earlier examples of expressions in the vein of “Well, first...” and after “Well,” there is a clear and deliberate paus that contributes to the originality. Later examples of “Well, first...” could not help Your Hosting. The court found that, all in all, the originality and creativity was sufficiently present and thus protected. Since Your Hosting had borrowed the recognisable part of Bavaria’s slogan (“Well, first..”), Your Hosting was in violation of copyright. This judgment confirms that the threshold for copyright protection of a slogan in the Netherlands is rather low. Even the combination of a few incredibly common Dutch words might cross the necessary line, provided it has some unusual element to it. After the ruling Bavaria promptly sent Your Hosting 140 crates of beer after the judgment under the guise of “Everyone has earned a beer by now.” This “little package” was much appreciated by Your Hosting.
Well, first we wait for the result from the appellate court.
Daniël Haije