Berlin – It reminds some of us of teeming worms. Others only see a mess of red, blue and black spots. Urban Jungle: This is what the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe (BVG) calls the pattern that still determines its appearance today – from seat covers to souvenirs. But now the district court of Hamburg has banned the state company from using the confused pattern, apart from a few exceptions. The designer Herbert Lindinger achieved a breakthrough in years of legal dispute surrounding the use of this design.
The plaintiff did not win across the board. Nevertheless, the ruling holds painful demands in store for Germany’s largest municipal transport company. The court ruled that the transport company must surrender merchandising articles, printed matter and most other things emblazoned with the urban jungle pattern – “for the purpose of destruction”. In addition, the judges granted the designer a claim for damages. In order for the amount to be calculated, the BVG must, among other things, report how much money it has earned with the Wimmelmuster. “A success all along the line,” said Lindinger’s lawyer Christian Donle. But the decision is not yet final.
Controversial, hip, chaotic like Berlin
After an eight-hour hearing in August, the 10th Civil Chamber put together some reading material. The judgment with the file number 310 O 44/19 comprises 37 pages. In addition, there are over 40 other pages that are printed in bright colors – atypical for decisions of this kind.
In a kind of BVG souvenir catalog, the court has put together how many sales items are emblazoned with the worm pattern. Whether swimming shorts, neck pouches, scarves, fans, socks or silk ties: the selection is large – to this day, as a look on the Internet shows. As further pictures show, the worms swarm business reports, Berlkönig Rufbussen, Adidas trainers and seat covers. Controversial, hip, chaotic like Berlin: You can already understand why the design was so important for BVG marketing.
But in the opinion of Herbert Lindinger, the BVG adorns itself with fake feathers. The now 88-year-old graphic artist, industrial designer, exhibition designer and university professor has not only designed subways, trams and buses. As a subcontractor of the now defunct railway manufacturer Waggon Union, Lindinger & Partner also created a design concept for the West Berlin S-Bahn class 480. Among other things, the focus was on the interior – including the seats.
“Amorphous-restless” – to scare off graffiti artists
In the pre-series trains that started operating in 1986, the covers were designed differently. But later it was agreed that their pattern should be “amorphous-restless”. Graffiti should get lost in it, graffiti artists should be discouraged. The design that Lindinger presented in 1989 was only intended for the new trains of the S-Bahn, which at that time was operated by BVG in West Berlin, according to the plaintiff. But the BVG has since used it for many other things – without a permit, without a contract.
The designer turned to the Berlin law firm Preu Bohlig & Partner. The legal dispute started in 2018, in which the first instance has now passed a judgment. The Hamburg Regional Court came to the conclusion that Lindinger was the creator of the samples that the proceedings are about. As “works of applied art” they are protected by copyright, Lindinger is the “original owner of the copyrights”. The BVG acted illegally because it did not obtain the rights of use.
The BVG boss faces imprisonment in the event of a violation
However, Lindinger’s complaint is only partially well founded. An example: His demand that the BVG also have to issue seat covers from underground trains and buses is disproportionate. “The seats in all affected vehicles would have to be removed in one fell swoop,” it said. The trams and buses would not be usable for that long – which would affect Berlin’s local transport “very significantly”, as the judges said.
Berliner Zeitung / Peter Neumann
These bus seats also have the swirl pattern. The Hamburg district court decided that the design should be retained in vehicles. But the plaintiff does not agree and is appealing.
But the list of claims to the BVG, which remained in the end, is still considerable according to the plaintiff’s assessment. Thereafter, the company may no longer reproduce the sample and no longer distribute objects provided with it. If this does happen, the BVG could face a fine of up to 250,000 euros, or the chairman of the board Eva Kreienkamp could be in custody for up to two years.
Plaintiff wants to go to the next instance
This also means: If a seat cover with the Wimmel pattern is damaged, it must no longer be repaired with it. According to the ruling, the BVG must also list how many seats were occupied with the model and how many passengers were carried for the period after December 2008. She also has to report how much sales and profit she has achieved with merchandising items in the jungle design. This information should be used to calculate the amount of the compensation, so lawyer Donle. Even more serious: With the exception of the seats in subways and buses, the BVG should issue all goods with the sample so that they can be destroyed.
No wonder that the decision at BVG does not meet with approval. “The judgment does not order the seats in the vehicles to be destroyed. The sale of the merchandising products, on the other hand, is no longer allowed ”, summarized spokesman Jannes Schwentu. “However, we would like to point out that four fifths of the plaintiff’s applications have been unsuccessful, otherwise the BVG has been unsuccessful.”
However, the plaintiff also wants to appeal to the Hamburg Higher Regional Court, as announced by his lawyer Christian Donle. They do not agree with the decision that the pattern does not have to be removed from subway and bus seats. One thing is clear: the urban jungle remains a fertile area for lawyers.
.