Judicial proceedings against the downloading of protected contents from the internet are becoming harsher – even towards minors. The case of a 15-year old girl who downloaded photos and sold them on ebay made waves in Hamburg in autumn last year. The Higher Regional Court of Hamburg found that it was of “general knowledge – even of a 15-year old – that foreign property was not to be disposed of except one was authorized to do so.”

 

While minimal infringement of copyright in the private sector – like the downloading of some music pieces for private use – are generally tolerated, selling via ebay represents a significant violation of intellectual property rights and entails serious consequences. The costs linked with these transgressions easily add up to several thousands of euros.

 

Numerous European lawyers’ offices are now working with IT experts and specialising in detecting intellectual property rights abuse. Arndt Joachim Nagel, attorney at IT-Recht, says: “It is a lucrative business and does not ask a lot of work judicially speaking”.

 

Source: Neue Musikzeitung, June 11^th 2007