Germany: First publisher convicted for changing text to gender-neutral language

Hamburg - Media and publishers are not allowed to rewrite articles by their authors in supposedly "gender-fair language" if they do not want it. The district court of Hamburg has now decided this and thus agreed with a woman who objected to the fact that in her article "Zeichner" (the male form of "illustrator") was made into a "drawing person". This must now be changed again in the online version.

The art therapist Sabine Mertens sued the publisher Manager Seminare in October 2021. The editors of the coaching magazine Training aktuell published had made the controversial changes to Mertens' text. She pointed out several times that she did not agree with the amended version.

As a result, the editors of the author, who is involved in the "German Language Association" (VDS) against gendering, assured that they would not print the gender-neutral words. However, after Mertens had approved the text, the publisher reinserted it.

According to the district court in Hamburg, it is undisputed that the publisher has violated copyright and personal rights. Mertens is happy about the decision she fought for: "I expect more respect for the freedom of the author from the editors of a magazine that deals with further education and learning."

Source: Junge Freiheit