Tina Turner has sued Germany’s tribute group for appearing too like her.
The American singer, now 81 years old, will be fighting it out in court alongside Dorothea Coco Fletcher (30), who is performing in Simply The Best, an unofficial tribute show.
Turner’s lawyers claim Fletcher is so similar to Tina in promo posters that they may make the mistake of thinking she is Tina.
The case has now reached Germany’s Federal Court of Justice which is set to make a ruling that could radically reshape the multi-billion dollar tribute act industry.
Tina Turner, left performing in 1997 is the tribute act Coco Fletcher right. It was created to show her that she doesn’t look too like Tina Turner.
Turner sued Fletcher over the poster she claims is too similar to hers.
The lawsuit is against Cofo Entertainment, a German firm that represents Fletcher and other tribute acts that imitate Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Frank Sinatra.
Turner filed the first suit against the company, which is based in Bavaria. This was last year after posters for Simply The Best appeared.
The Times reports that her legal team won an initial victory over a Cologne court, which ruled that the posters were misleading.
However, the posters were redesigned and Turner was unsuccessful in a subsequent case at Cologne Court of Appeals. The court ruled Fletcher’s right to artistic expression outweighed the risk of confusion.
Now, the case is before the Federal Court of Justice. It was heard in its initial hearing last week.
Kerstin Schmitt, Turner’s lawyer, tried to convince the judges that posters are not art and were merely advertisements.
“[Turner] would like to decide when her name and image are used for commercial purposes,’ Schmitt told the court.
But Brunhilde Ackermann, lawyer for the entertainment company, hit back – saying the average fan would expect a tribute act to look like the real Tina Turner.
Turner, left (performing in 1990), says that some fans might mistakenly believe she is part of the Fletcher show.
Fletcher (originally from America) has been playing the role of Turner for many years.
She said that only a “chronically stupid” person would be able to see the differences between them.
A binding decision by the court, she warned, could also destabilize a multibillion-dollar industry which has been long recognized as legitimate.
Judge Thomas Koch then questioned whether the motivation for Turner’s lawsuit is that she endorses a rival official tribute act.
He is expected to make his final decision on the matter in February 2013.
Fletcher was born in Alabama, and although he performs mainly in Germany.
Initially working as a club singer, she moved to Vegas where she began performing with the likes of The Platters, Bobby Womack and Millie Jackson.
After moving to Berlin in 1997, she began to perform in the Stars in Concert show. This tribute-acts program is dedicated to her.
Aside from performing as Tina Turner, Fletcher has also sung at shows organised by Austrian composed Udo Jürgens, who passed away in 2014.
Her TV appearances include on Let’s Dance in Germany and Strictly Come Dancing Germany.