Conni Goes Viral: Publisher Clarifies Meme Use After Public Backlash
Copyright meets Meme culture: The well-known children’s book character Conni causes a stir on the net. The Carlsen Verlag now manifests itself as an unexpected popularity, stimulates its position after public criticism and reveals when legal steps threaten.
Verlag clarifies meme policy
The popular children’s book character Conni is currently causing discussions on the Internet. After reports on possible warnings against Meme manufacturers circulated, the Carlsen Verlag specified its position on the viral Conni parodies. The company emphasizes that satirical uses of the figure are generally allowed and that one is by no means a flat rate against all memes. The controversy was created after an internal PDF of the publisher became public that regulated the use of Conni-Memes. Many Internet users interpreted this as a general threat to the meme culture. The publisher then saw itself for a public statement in order to clear up misunderstandings.
We are pleased that the figure Conni is so well known and popular that it inspires a lot of people to play a lot of people and funny articles on the Internet.
This statement is clear in the clear contrast to the originally feared restrictive measures.
Limits to problematic content
Despite the fundamentally tolerant attitude, the publisher draws clear limits. Inhuman, racist or pornographic representations of the children’s book figure are not tolerated. In such cases, the company reserves legal steps. Some problematic content had to be removed in the past.
Among other things, the Instagram channel “Connimeme” was deleted with over 280,000 followers after there were apparently borderline content. The challenge for the publisher is to distinguish between harmless satirical representations and actually problematic content. This weighing up is apparently not automatic, but is checked in individual cases.
Commercial use remains taboo
In addition to the restrictions on content, the publisher also prohibits the commercial use of Conni memes. Advertising, marketing or similar purposes are not approved for copyright and trademark law reasons. A judicial approach has not yet been necessary, emphasizes the publisher. After corresponding information, most users are likely to voluntarily do without commercial exploitation.
Legal framework for Memes
The legal basis for memes is the so-called “meme paragraph” (§51a UrhG), which was included in the German Copyright Act in 2021. It allows the use of copyright -protected works for parodies, caricatures or pastiches – generally also for commercial purposes. However, there are still borders, especially if the original works are impaired or use against other rights. Carlsen Verlag uses these legal scope to protect its trademark rights without generally suppressing the meme culture. The legal situation shows the complexity of the topic: While parodies are allowed by law, rights holders can nevertheless intervene in certain cases.
Conni as a cultural figure
With over 40 million copies sold in 1992, the Conni book series, which started in 1992, has become an integral part of German children’s book culture. For more than 30 years, the figure with the characteristic red loop has accompanied children through everyday situations and challenges. The popularity as an internet meme shows on the one hand the cultural meaning of the figure, but also leads to new challenges for the rights holder.
The balancing act between the protection of the brand and the acceptance of its viral distribution requires a differentiated approach. The current discussion illustrates how traditional media companies have to deal with the realities of digital culture. While in the past control over brand content was largely with the rights holder, the Internet enables uncontrolled distribution and change of figures and content.
