German court rules Wi-Fi providers liable for infringements before 2017
A German court has ruled that operators of open and free public Wi-Fi networks in Germany must be held liable for copyright infringements committed over their network before an amendment to Germany's Telemedia Act doing away with provider liability entered into effect, reported TelTarif.
The Higher Regional Court of Munich upheld a lower court verdict that found the plaintiff, the German internet activist and politician Tobias McFadden, had to pay a fine of up to EUR 800 to Sony Music Entertainment Germany over a song that was illegally downloading via the open Wi-Fi network in his office in 2010. Because McFadden was a "liable party" under German law at the time of the infringement in 2010, the fine and warning he received for the infringement was legal.
Still, the court's verdict is not applicable to cases that took place after 12 October 2017, when a revised version of Germany's Telemedia Act went into effect, wrote TelTarif. The German parliament amended the Telemedia Act last year to help promote the provision of free Wi-Fi in Germany and prevent Wi-Fi operators from being held liable for user piracy.
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