File-sharer fined €30 by German Court

A German man, who as a teenager file-shared two music tracks, finally learns his fate.

In 2006, a then 16 year-old used his father’s Internet connection to share two unlicensed tracks, “Angel” by “Rammstein” and “Roll Over not” by Marius Müller-Westernhagen, online.

The claimant, who owned the distribution rights for the songs, had asked for damages of €300 (£261) per title. After nearly five years a German court has published its decision.

Hamburg Regional Court ruled that the then teenager had violated copyright law and as such was required to pay compensation to the rights holders. However their damages demands were excessive.

The Court informs the man is only liable to pay damages of €15 (£13) for each title he had illegally shared online.

The court rejected the rights holder’s claims against connection owner, the teenager’s father. He neither carried out infringements or authorized them, and had no knowledge of them occurring. Although he was considered responsible for his connection, that did not lead to a liability for damages.

Several factors were taken into consideration when making the decision. It was decided that as the tracks were old there would be a limited demand for them. And also, since it could only be proven that the tracks were made available for a short period of time, few downloads of the tracks would have taken place.