Sajic has successfully represented a photographer, Zivan Vanja Panic, in a copyright infringement case heard by the Sarajevo Municipal Court.
According to Sajic, the dispute involved the publication of a 1988 photo of a famous musician from the former Yugoslavia who was the frontman of one of the most popular music groups at the time. The defendant downloaded the photo, which had been taken by Panic, a citizen of the Republic of Serbia, with an analog camera, from Google's Internet imaging platform and published it, without stating the author's name.
According to Sajic, “the court issued a judgment recognizing the plaintiff's rights which were violated by one of the largest media companies in BiH. Namely, the defendant published the plaintiff's photograph without authorization. Consequently, the court awarded damages of approximately EUR 4000 for violations of the author's moral and economic rights.”
Sajic reports that “although this is a first instance court decision, it is very important to note that this decision is also one of the first decisions taken by the courts in Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the protection of copyright in photography, especially considering the specificity of the case, and therefore making Bosnia and Herzegovina one of those countries whose courts consistently protect the author's rights.”
The Sajic team was led by Senior Associate Ognjen Bogdanic.
