Information on Copyrights on the Internet
Copyrights on the Internet
The Internet is not a lawless space. Rather, all rules apply there – at least according to German jurisdiction – especially those concerning copyright or industrial property rights.
It repeatedly occurs that – particularly, but not only – young people commit copyright infringements via their parents’ internet connection, sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly. The consequence of such violations is that the copyright holders, often represented by specialized law firms, such as the firms Rasch, Schulenberg Schenk or Sasse in Hamburg, Waldorf Frommer in Munich, Kornmeier in Frankfurt, to name just a few, specifically investigate whether a work, be it music, video or images, is being offered for download on the internet without authorization.
When such a letter arrives, there is great agitation. Often, the parents or the connection owner know nothing about the violation, often not even knowing the mentioned titles. The costs demanded are usually four-digit EURO amounts.
In the cease and desist letters, regular reference is made to the so-called “liability as disturber” of the connection owner. The background is the jurisdiction that assumes that the connection owner essentially opens a source for possible legal violations. Then they must also be liable for it.
Even if this jurisdiction is regularly sharply criticized and repeatedly experiences changes in detail, the principle still applies: Parents are liable for their children.
And this principle also applies: Whoever operates a connection is fundamentally liable for legal violations committed – unnoticed by them – via their connection.
Especially children and young people are often completely surprised that they were “caught”. The rumor persists stubbornly that one can’t be found anyway. And if one were discovered, then one could sit out the matter.
Both rumors are demonstrably false, as shown by the large number of regularly sent cease and desist letters from the relevant law firms.
Protection of the Connection Owner from Cease and Desist Letters
And so the consequence is often that the connection owner grudgingly pays – not only the costs of the cease and desist letter but also possibly the costs of consultation by expert advisors who must explain the legal situation and legal practice to them.
Then the question regularly arises: How can one avoid this?
1. Blocking Access?
This strategy is rarely feasible: Completely blocking internet access or protecting it so that only the connection owner themselves can use it. Because especially pupils and students need internet access for research as part of their education; they are nowadays necessarily dependent on such access.
2. Information about Rights and Obligations as well as Legal Situation
Another possibility is to – preferably “before the child falls into the well” – provide instruction to those authorized to access and have this instruction countersigned. This can and should be repeated at regular intervals, e.g., every 6 to 12 months.
If one can present such an instruction and thus prove that all authorized users have been informed, one has better opportunities in many courts to successfully defend against liability as a disturber by referring to this instruction.
Especially when a homeowner wants to provide internet access to their residents or visitors, such a declaration is also urgently recommended and necessary. This is particularly a problem with foreign visitors who often do not know the strict requirements of German jurisdiction, e.g., during au pair stays or visits from foreign friends. Here it is good and helpful to resort to a signature on a form and to be able to prove that one has pointed out the limitations.
To provide initial assistance, we have provided a sample declaration below as a pdf document which – without warranty – can help significantly reduce the risk of liability as a disturber.