Famous Landmarks around germany, is it allowed

[SvenArndt]

Hi All

So I did a quick search for Neuschwanstein on Zazzle and naturally photos of the castle come up with text or without etc. From a legal standpoint, Does Zazzle allow these kind of photos without a release of some kind? I am aware that the German rules state anything taken from a public road is fair game, don't think the bridge qualifies as that, but has anyone queried this, perhaps even gotten a release from the German authorities before submitting and know what the cost is?

[Fiorenzo]

Photos of German landmarks fall under the so-called "Panoramafreiheit" ("Freedom of Panorama") and are not subject to release even for commercial use IF the landmark is taken from PUBLIC spaces OUTSIDE and WITHOUT the use of any tools to allow specific perspectives. These tools include drones, ladders, selfie sticks, and high-zoom tele-objectives.

Images taken from and inside castles, museums, and other buildings are subject to prior written consent and licenses by the resp. administration/owner if used for commercial purposes. Neuschwanstein is administered by the Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens, and Lakes. 

Under legal aspects, you are free to take outdoor pictures of Castle Neuschwanstein and other landmarks in Germany and use them at your discretion under the conditions I mentioned before. I especially checked it out for you to make sure I wouldn't give you wrong advice. In terms of Zazzle I don't think there are any issues either due to these legal regulations. You also find tons of Neuschwanstein panorama pictures on every renowned RF stock site, so you're definitely on the safe side. This includes the use of the name of the castle. A good tip to check out such limitations is to browse and search on stock photo agencies.

[SvenArndt]

Thanks I did some checking on the stock sites and they speak about a property license for buildings and landmarks. The technicality could come in for example, is the bridge near Neuschwanstein is considered public space as it might fall under the property of the castle. Like how I might not be able to use a photo of a valley from a bridge if the owner of the land I took it on says so,  even though I paid to go hiking along the route. 

Under certain circumstances, the scope of the permission is also extended to actually private grounds, e.g. to publicly accessible private parks and castles without entrance control, however with the restriction that the owner may then demand a fee for commercial use of the images. This is from Wikipedia's page about it in Germany. So it depends if the Bavarian Schlossverwaltung employs this. 

[Fiorenzo · Accepted solution]

Unfortunately, imagery property rights legislation depends on so many factors that it is a deep, dangerous jungle even for professional lawyers. In your specific case, the German legislation is pretty clear, if you take the pics outdoors, and from a PUBLIC place (not to confound with private spaces that are publicly accessible). If the bridge is the property of the castle administration, you may need their permission. Not sure how this one is handled, the info I read mentioned solely the interior of the castle, including the outdoor spaces within the castle (not limited to Neuschwanstein).

Also to know in the case of trademarked architecture/buildings (such as the Petronas Towers as a good example) is that you usually need permission for pictures of the building itself but not for city shootings.

And even if you do all right you still may get it "wrong". Not even mentioning fraudulent trademark and copyright practices and claims. Good luck!