Quote:
Originally Posted by Tribesman
It isn't a freedom of speech issue, its infringement of the vaticans marketing rights as their commercial image.
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Given the number of law suits the Titanic already had, it would be foolish if they used an image of which they didn't acquire the publishing rights before.
In general, German citizens have a "right of possession" of their own picture, meaning that no pics shall be published without the person's consent. This however goes not for persons of "contemporary history", which the pope definitely is. (§22/23 KunstUrhG - sorry, no English version available online)
Altering a work from someone else to create a new (art)work, is also allowed - if there is enough "threshold of originality" - a definition that often leads to law suits. For example you are free to cover a music title without permission from the artist. In the example of the pope pic, the question is if 2 photoshop stains are enough to create a new piece of art.