Individuals can an injunction, however, not be liable for damages claim when it is not sufficiently secure Wi-Fi connection from unauthorized third parties used for copyright infringement on the Internet. This was decided by the responsible among others for copyright First Civil Senate of the Federal Court.
The applicant owns the rights to the song "Summer of our lives." With the help of the public prosecutor has determined that this title was adopted by the Internet access offered to the defendant from a swap meet for download on the Internet. The defendant was at the time in question, however, leave. The applicant seeks to obtain from the defendant injunction, damages and reimbursement of Abmahnkosten.
The district court sentenced the defendants in the application. The appellate court dismissed the action.
The Federal Court of Appeal overturned the judgment, unless the appellate court had dismissed the action for injunctive relief and the request for payment of Abmahnkosten. The Supreme Court has assumed a liability of the defendant as a perpetrator or a participant can not be considered an infringement of copyright. Also, private port owners responsibility but an obligation to consider whether their wireless connection is protected by adequate safeguards against the risk of being abused by unauthorized third parties to commit copyright infringement. The private operator of a wireless network can not be expected, their network security continually adapt the latest technology and to spend adequate financial resources. Your audit requirement, therefore, relates to compliance with the time of installation of the router to the private sector arm's backups.
This duty had violated the defendant's view of the Federal Court. He had left at the factory default security settings of the wireless router and replaced by the password is not a personal, long enough and secure password. Such was password protected and private WLAN users as early as 2006 and are reasonable. He was in the vital interest of all authorized users, and was associated with no additional costs.
The defendant is liable therefore to the principles of the so-called disturbance liability for injunctive relief and reimbursement of Abmahnkosten (as applicable in case of dispute, but not yet applicable law are far more than in 100 €). This liability exists even after the first of its Wi-Fi Connection committed copyright infringement. In contrast, the defendant is not liable to pay damages. Liability as perpetrators of copyright infringement has denied the Federal Court because the defendant did not question the music on the Internet. A liability as an assistant to the foreign copyrights would have required intent, where it was lacking in the dispute.
Judgment of 12 May 2010 - I ZR 121/08 - Summer of our lives
OLG Frankfurt, judgment of 1 July 2008 - 11 U 52/07 (RR-IIC 2008, 279) LG Frankfurt, judgment of 5 October 2007 - 2/3 O 19/07
| Source: Federal, Communication from the Press Office, No. 101/2010 | Karlsruhe, 12 May 2010 |
