No deletion of YouTube videos in the event of an obligation to cease and desist

The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has issued an interesting decision on the right of expression and Youtubers. Under the file number Az. I ZB 86/17, the Federal Court of Justice ruled on July 12, 2018, that someone who is obligated to cease and desist from making a statement on the Internet (in this case, NDR) does not have to take proactive action against illegal uploads of the statement to YouTube. After NDR removed the passages to be omitted from the media library, they could no longer be found on Google. However, copies of the unedited broadcast had been illegally uploaded to YouTube by third parties and were still available there. However, the BGH ruled that this was not attributable to NDR, as the dissemination by third parties was unlawful and without knowledge or economic benefit for NDR.

Key Facts

On 12.07.2018, the BGH ruled on the right of Youtubers to make statements.
Az. I ZB 86/17 states that NDR does not have to take proactive action against illegal uploads.
After the passages were removed from the media library, the statement could no longer be found on Google.
Third parties illegally uploaded copies of the program to YouTube.
The BGH found that the dissemination took place without the knowledge of the NDR.
Decision corresponds to previous rulings that focus on economic benefits.
The question remains as to when obligations to cease and desist make active measures necessary.

This decision is essentially consistent with previous decisions of various higher regional courts, which often focus primarily on the economic benefit when it comes to the question of when duties to cease and desist become duties to act actively to prevent further infringements.

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.