Not Warning Kid About Piracy Makes Father Liable, Court Rules

[shamu726]

A German court has ruled that a father is liable for an audiobook his 11-year old son downloaded. The man told the kid to only use the computer for school purposes and not to simply download things. However, the court ruled that this was not a proper anti-piracy instruction.

 

Over the past decade, copyright holders have gone after hundreds of thousands of alleged pirates in Germany, demanding settlements ranging from a few hundred to thousands of euros.

 

The targeted account holder is sometimes the perpetrator, but it could also be another member of the household or even a complete stranger, if the Wi-Fi network is unsecured.

 

In a case before a Leipzig court the defendant denied having downloaded an audiobook, as he wasn’t home at the time of the infringement. His wife and 11-year-old son were, and as the case progressed it became clear that the latter was the offender.

 

Nonetheless, in a rather unique verdict the court decided to hold the father liable. Although it’s not uncommon for parents to be held responsible for the actions of their children, the court specifically referenced a lack of anti-piracy education.

 

In his defense, the father argued that he’d asked his son to keep any Internet activity limited to school purposes, a statement that was backed up by the man’s partner. In addition, the 11-year-old was warned not to download random things or do anything dangerous.

 

However, according to the court’s verdict, this doesn’t count as an adequate instruction since it lacks a specific explanation as to what illegal downloads are.

 

In her order the judge writes that for proper parental supervision, it’s required to “instruct a child on the illegality of participating in illegal file-sharing exchanges, and to explicitly prohibit this behavior.”

 

The court characterizes the father’s behavior as “negligent” and doesn’t rule out the possibility that the instruction to limit the son’s Internet to school purposes, was made up to avoid punishment.

 

As a result, the man was found guilty and must now pay 956 euros in damages and legal costs. He still has an option to appeal the case at a higher court.

 

The copyright holder, who’s not named in the redacted verdict (pdf), was represented by the German lawfirm Waldorf Frommer, who are widely known for pursuing file-sharers around the country.

 

 

Source: TorrentFreak

 

[46&2]

fcuked up world we live in ... all because of copyright holders and the super wealthy!

[Ghost RideR]

is german that strict ?! Didn't knew about this 

[straycat19]

27 minutes ago, Ghost RideR said:

is german that strict ?! Didn't knew about this 

 

A lot of laws in Germany are stricter than in the US or other places.  Things we take for granted are still considered a luxury in Germany, like owning a car.  The biggest difference I ever saw was when a young lady I was running around with rented a new apartment and she wanted to show it to me.  I was shocked.  The walls were literally bare plaster; there was no rugs, just bare floors; there was no electrical chandeliers, just bare wires; there were no sinks, bathtub, hot water heater, etc;  and, there was no refrigerator, or stove.  She explained that that was how it was rented, you put your own sinks, bathtub, hot water heater, stove, refrigerator, and rugs in.  You wallpapered the apartment the way you wanted and you installed your own lights.  When you moved out you had to take the wallpaper off and move all your appliances out.  Did I mention there was not one closet in the entire apartment, you had to move in your clothes closets, chest of drawers, and shrunk.  A shrunk is a large unit that includes, shelves, closets, and drawers.  Modern versions can be fancy when designed for the living room and have places for TVs and stereos.  Sorry to get off topic, but I lived in Germany several times (my grandparents came from Germany, I could count to 10 in German before I could in English), and people really don't realize how different things are over there and how much more we have here, even today.

[luisam]

8 hours ago, shamu726 said:

In her order the judge writes that for proper parental supervision, it’s required to “instruct a child on the illegality of participating in illegal file-sharing exchanges, and to explicitly prohibit this behavior.”

 

So what are supposed parents to do with 11 years old kids to give him "anti-piracy education" : enroll them to a law school course about copyright laws, legal obligatons and law enforcement? I believe, father of this kid did much more then most, giving simpe and intelligible instructions about improper downloads.

In any case, mostly to "set an example" for the kid, he should have been obligated... to pay the value of that stupid audio book...

[jamesbond]

6 hours ago, straycat19 said:

 

A lot of laws in Germany are stricter than in the US or other places.  Things we take for granted are still considered a luxury in Germany, like owning a car.  The biggest difference I ever saw was when a young lady I was running around with rented a new apartment and she wanted to show it to me.  I was shocked.  The walls were literally bare plaster; there was no rugs, just bare floors; there was no electrical chandeliers, just bare wires; there were no sinks, bathtub, hot water heater, etc;  and, there was no refrigerator, or stove.  She explained that that was how it was rented, you put your own sinks, bathtub, hot water heater, stove, refrigerator, and rugs in.  You wallpapered the apartment the way you wanted and you installed your own lights.  When you moved out you had to take the wallpaper off and move all your appliances out.  Did I mention there was not one closet in the entire apartment, you had to move in your clothes closets, chest of drawers, and shrunk.  A shrunk is a large unit that includes, shelves, closets, and drawers.  Modern versions can be fancy when designed for the living room and have places for TVs and stereos.  Sorry to get off topic, but I lived in Germany several times (my grandparents came from Germany, I could count to 10 in German before I could in English), and people really don't realize how different things are over there and how much more we have here, even today.

are you serious here? i live in a country next to germany and even have some relatives i visit from time to time, but i've never heard of anything like this...

[tao]

1 hour ago, jamesbond said:

are you serious here? i live in a country next to germany and even have some relatives i visit from time to time, but i've never heard of anything like this...

An interesting article to read, "Why We Believe Obvious Untruths".

 

How can so many people believe things that are demonstrably false? [...]

 

Knowledge isn’t in my head or in your head. It’s shared.

 

Consider some simple examples. You know that the earth revolves around the sun. But can you rehearse the astronomical observations and calculations that led to that conclusion? You know that smoking causes cancer. But can you articulate what smoke does to our cells, how cancers form and why some kinds of smoke are more dangerous than others? We’re guessing no. Most of what you “know” — most of what anyone knows — about any topic is a placeholder for information stored elsewhere, in a long-forgotten textbook or in some expert’s head.[...]

 

The key point here is not that people are irrational; it’s that this irrationality comes from a very rational place. People fail to distinguish what they know from what others know because it is often impossible to draw sharp boundaries between what knowledge resides in our heads and what resides elsewhere. [...]

 

That individual ignorance is our natural state is a bitter pill to swallow. But if we take this medicine, it can be empowering. It can help us differentiate the questions that merit real investigation from those that invite a reactive and superficial analysis. It also can prompt us to demand expertise and nuanced analysis from our leaders, which is the only tried and true way to make effective policy. A better understanding of how little is actually inside our own heads would serve us well.

 

Enjoy!