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The Cologne Regional Court has now issued several interim injunctions for Camino GmbH, which we represent, against file sharers who have downloaded the film
“The crappiness of things”
made publicly available on file-sharing networks. The perpetrators had not responded to a warning letter and a settlement offer to pay a total of € 1,200.00 contained therein.
The chamber set the amount in dispute for the injunction claim at € 50,000.00. The costs of the preliminary injunction proceedings alone, which the defendant has to bear, are now far higher than the amount of € 1,200.00 offered in return (Regional Court of Cologne, decision of 10 August 2010, case no. 28 O 509/10).
The defendant is now free to appeal against the decision. The decision is therefore not legally binding. However, an appeal would of course entail further costs, which could amount to €10,000.00 or more.
As a further step, Camino GmbH will now pursue the claim for damages in relation to each infringement.
In this context, reference should be made to another recent decision by the Higher Regional Court of Cologne (judgement of 23 July 2010, case no. 6 U 31/10). The senate also responsible for the cases dealt with here had awarded the rights holder damages of € 5,000.00 for the lost licence and € 1,000.00 for the out-of-court legal costs incurred in relation to the file sharing of a computer program. The decision can be obtained from Dr Damm & Partner.
If you have also been contacted by our law firm, please do not put the letter aside unseen. Unlike perhaps the many ‘warning letter law firms’, we consistently pursue every case for our clients if a reasonable settlement cannot be found. (la)
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