From Reuters: Becker wins suit against paper
Former top tennis player Boris Becker has won €1.2 million ($A1.93 million) in a lawsuit against a German newspaper which used his photograph in an advertisement without asking for permission.
Becker had asked the regional court in Munich for almost €2.4 million in compensation for the use of his picture, his lawyer Georg Stock said yesterday.
The court said in a ruling it had decided to award Becker €1.2 million, plus 5 per cent interest since 2002.
The daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) ran an ad-campaign in 2001 for its then new Sunday edition, featuring a mock front-page that carried a photo of the red-haired tennis star who won his first Wimbledon title in 1985 at the age of 17, making him a national hero.
"This (decision) confirms, that the FAZ cannot simply use my client's picture for advertisement," Mr Stock said.
"I think this was a good outcome. If this will be the end of the story remains to be seen though," he said.
A FAZ spokeswoman declined to comment on the court ruling.
But the newspaper's lawyer criticised the court's decision to award Becker, who won several grand slam titles and the Wimbledon crown three times, over 1 million euros.
"I think the amount is completely exaggerated," said Claas-Hendrik Soehring, adding that FAZ had yet to decide whether to appeal.
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