Beatles tribute: the federal government's lawyers were probably a little too careful

It could have been a relatively original Federal Council photo - but nothing came of it. President Sommaruga's idea of having the national government cross a pedestrian crossing in "Abbey Road" style was thwarted by the federal government's lawyers (Werbewoche.ch reported). They feared possible copyright disputes. Why exactly was not entirely clear to most laypeople when the case first came to light. The iconic album cover had already been imitated, satirized and recreated thousands of times. The fact that this would have caused legal problems was not known, at least not to the public.

The suspicion that the federal lawyers may have overstepped the mark with their anticipatory obedience is supported by investigations by the Switzerland at the weekend has now been confirmed. The newspaper interviewed renowned communications law expert Rudolf Mayr von Baldegg about the case. He considers the copyright issue to be "not dramatic". Copyright protection is limited to the original photo with the Beatles. He also believes it is "hardly possible that the idea of the pedestrian crossing alone enjoys protection". In principle, ideas are not protected, only the expression or a concrete implementation.

And even if the Beatles cover were an actual work, it could still be used for a parody. This would be legally protected by the so-called freedom of parody. To summarize: So you could probably have dared to do it - even if there is always a tiny residual risk.