Dhe Federal Court of Justice (BGH) has strengthened the rights of computer game manufacturers who are using claims for damages to defend themselves against the illegal posting of their games on file-sharing platforms. According to a judgment on Thursday, a single judicial approval is sufficient to determine the identity of the person operating the file sharing. (AZ: I ZR 193/16)
In this specific case, the internet game “Dead Island” was offered illegally on a file-sharing platform in 2011. The collecting society Koch Media took action against it, determined the associated IP address and obtained the required judge’s permission to determine the name and address of the file sharer via the network operator Telekom. Telekom referred to 1&1, as this was the end provider of the DSL connection, and they also shared the user’s identification data. 1&1 then passed on the name and address of the person to whom the user ID belonged.
In the subsequent process for damages, the Frankenthal district court ruled that 1&1 should not have given the identity, because the judge’s decision only covered the information provided by Telekom. Because of illegal data transfer, the name may not be used, the claim for damages was unsuccessful.
The Supreme Court disagreed. The judge’s decision makes it possible to request the traffic data – including the user ID – from the network operator Telekom. In the second step, 1&1 was then allowed to pass on the identity of the user, because the name and address are inventory data. They could also be communicated without a new judicial decision. There is no ban on the use of evidence. The district court in Frankenthal must now renegotiate Koch Media’s claim for damages.