Former tennis star Boris Becker has prevailed in the second instance with his injunction against comedian Oliver Pocher. Pocher is now prohibited from distributing controversial image sequences from a television report, the branch of the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court ruled in Freiburg on Tuesday. In addition, Pocher must delete the image sequences if they were published on his own website.
The court did not follow the Offenburg regional court with its ruling. A year ago, Becker’s lawsuit against Pocher was rejected in the first instance. The presiding judge Claudia Jarsumbek of the 14th Civil Senate of the Higher Regional Court said in the middle of the month that there are limits to the portrayal of celebrities: “The Senate has doubts that a celebrity will allow any form of publication of their image – no matter how it was taken – must accept.”
At the oral hearing in mid-November, the two celebrities were represented by their lawyers. Pocher’s lawyer Patricia Cronemeyer said at the time that her client was a presenter, but not a station owner – therefore Pocher could not be required to cease and desist. Becker’s Offenburg lawyer Samy Hammad argued that the court recognized that celebrities don’t have to put up with everything.
The dispute between comedian Oliver Pocher and ex-tennis player Boris Becker has been simmering for 15 years and began in 2008 with Becker’s engagement to Alessandra Meyer-Wölden, who later became Pocher’s first wife. Boris Becker and Oliver Pocher have already had legal disputes on several occasions.
In this specific case it was about a contribution that appeared in October 2020 on the RTL show “Pocher – dangerously honest!” was broadcast. Pocher made fun of Becker’s bankruptcy proceedings and started a fundraising campaign under the motto “Make Boris rich again.” In fact, around 500 euros were raised. But Becker didn’t want the money.
That’s why Pocher went one step further and created a fashion prize that was to be awarded to Becker on behalf of an Austrian magazine. The problem: Both the magazine and the price were fake. But Becker fell for it and proudly accepted the “Fashion Brand Award”. He even posted an acceptance speech on Facebook. What the 55-year-old didn’t know: The money collected was in the base of the plastic trophy.
After the action, Boris Becker saw his personal rights violated and sued Oliver Pocher. In 2022, Becker failed in the first instance before the Offenburg regional court. Becker wanted the post to no longer be sent and deleted from the internet. From the Offenburg court’s perspective, “the interests of freedom of expression and broadcasting” outweighed the plaintiff’s privacy. Boris Becker appealed the verdict. The second instance was now heard in Freiburg, a branch of the Karlsruhe Higher Regional Court – with success for Boris Becker.
