Is an artist’s name sufficient in the imprint?

Basically, there are clear rules in Germany about what belongs in an imprint. For Twitch I have written something about it here, for social media accounts there is some information here. And of course, despite the clear rules in Section 5 of the German Telemedia Act, there are still stumbling blocks as described here and here.

Another exciting topic came to my agenda today, namely what it looks like with the obligation to name in the imprint, for example, if a YouTuber, a Twitch streamer or an Instagram personality has an official stage name. Here, however, we are not talking about a nickname from gamers or the like, but about an artist’s name actually entered in the identity card and/or passport. Such registration may be made to the competent reporting authorities. However, the prerequisite for registering the artist’s name is that you are known nationwide as an artist (this can be a YouTuber or Twitch creator), not just your own friends. Of course, it also helps with the assessment by the authorities if things like a registered trademark already exist.

If the artist’s name can be clearly assigned to a specific person after registration, the artist’s name can also be legally binding lysigned and its owner may be sued under that name. In the event of a lawsuit, the artist’s name can then also be used to refer to the party name.

This probably leads to the fact that the artist’s name is then also sufficient for the entry in the imprint, and thus you do not have to open your real name to fans, for example. A risk remains, of course. As far as I am aware, there have been no judgments on the issue so far. A certain warning risk therefore remains.

However, since successful streamers or influencers are certainly reluctant to make things such as a full address, telephone extension and/or the full name public, one should pay attention to a few things that are generally related to the imprint of a companies may be assessed differently. I am happy to provide comprehensive advice and thus reconcile interest and process risk.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.