File sharing and instruction by parents

An interesting, but in this respect, based on the case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), consistent ruling was made by the Regional Court of Frankfurt am Main in the problem area of file sharing.

According to this provision, the question of whether the secondary burden of proof has been fulfilled is no longer relevant if, after the taking of evidence, the owner of the connection has not only shown, but also proven, that his family members could be considered the perpetrators of the infringement.

In addition to other civil procedural comments, however, it is particularly interesting that the Frankfurt am Main Regional Court is of the opinion that the reasoning of the BGH in the “Tauschbörse II” case (judgment of June 11, 2015 – I ZR 7/14) indicates that the duty of supervision can also be satisfied by instruction if the users are clearly and unambiguously informed that use, which also includes file sharing, may not take place. An instruction is therefore sufficient if the owner of the connection has expressly instructed his children not to download or install anything illegal and has specified this in such a way that any activity on a file-sharing platform is also covered by the instruction.

The issue of file-sharing cease-and-desist letters is therefore not over in 2019 and will continue to occupy lawyers and courts.

Author: Marian Härtel

Marian Härtel ist Rechtsanwalt und Fachanwalt für IT-Recht mit einer über 25-jährigen Erfahrung als Unternehmer und Berater in den Bereichen Games, E-Sport, Blockchain, SaaS und Künstliche Intelligenz. Seine Beratungsschwerpunkte umfassen neben dem IT-Recht insbesondere das Urheberrecht, Medienrecht sowie Wettbewerbsrecht. Er betreut schwerpunktmäßig Start-ups, Agenturen und Influencer, die er in strategischen Fragen, komplexen Vertragsangelegenheiten sowie bei Investitionsprojekten begleitet. Dabei zeichnet sich seine Beratung durch einen interdisziplinären Ansatz aus, der juristische Expertise und langjährige unternehmerische Erfahrung miteinander verbindet. Ziel seiner Tätigkeit ist stets, Mandanten praxisorientierte Lösungen anzubieten und rechtlich fundierte Unterstützung bei der Umsetzung innovativer Geschäftsmodelle zu gewährleisten.