Duplicate of a piece of furniture in a hotel

By setting up reproductions of copyrighted pieces of furniture in a publicly accessible hotel lobby, the originator’s right of distribution is not violated. According to the case law of the ECJ an act of distribution within the meaning § 16 (1) UrhG (Austrian Fair Trade Practices Act) requires a transfer of ownership on the object. On the other hand, publishing a photograph on the Internet, which shows the reproduction of copyrighted pieces of furniture, interferes with the originator’s right to make his work available pursuant to § 18a UrhG. [OGH 20.04.2016, 4 Ob 61/16y]