Warning about file sharing - what to do?

If you receive a warning about file sharing in your mailbox, the shock is great. But there are strategies on how to respond.

Who issues warnings and what exactly is in the warning?

Lawyers who warn about films, series, music or software for illegal file sharing include, among others, Waldorf Frommer, Urmann & Collegen, Rasch, Nümann and Lang, Rainer Munderloh, Schulenberg & Schenk, Kornmeier & Partner or law firms with such a sonorous quality Names like WeSaveYourCopyrights. The law firms represent the actual rights holder, e.g. film or distribution companies such as Twentieth Century Fox.

• You should always take such a letter of attorney seriously and react to it, even if you are not aware of any guilt. The allegation of file sharing via Bittorrent or eMule is often months ago and the deadlines set by the lawyers are more than short.
• The law firm usually requires you to issue a cease and desist letter and to pay a warning sum. The latter usually amounts to a "fair" compensation of several hundred euros for the actual copyright infringement and a fee for the lawyer - this amounts to amounts between 700-1, 000 euros. Sums of 8-10, 000 euros are often used as the actual value in dispute. Despite these large amounts of money, you should do one thing first: keep calm.

Take action against your warning. anwalt.de helps!

Submit modified injunction

If you sign the letter of omission that was sent, it always implies an admission of guilt and an acknowledgment of the lawyer's fees and damages. The actual main goal of a warning is to prevent a legal violation in a cost-effective manner out of court. In addition to his claim for damages and the assumption of legal fees, the rights holder is therefore above all entitled to refrain from unlawful conduct.

• To fulfill this claim, you can also use a so-called modified injunctive relief (mod.UE). A mod. UE is (in contrast to the pre-formulated by the warning attorney) not an admission of guilt, but only promises to refrain from this legal violation in the future. A sample letter of a modified cease and desist declaration can be found here, among other things. A mod.UE is also recommended in the case of so-called "interference liability" - ie if your internet connection was used for file sharing without your knowledge. More on this in the article "File sharing by children - who is liable?".
• Always send the modified cease and desist letter by registered letter with return receipt; if the deadline is very tight, additionally by fax or email.
• If you do not respond to a warning or send a modified injunction, there is a particular risk that the warning will bring an injunction to the court. With such a “quick decision” by the court, the costs can quickly increase to a few thousand euros, depending on the amount in dispute.
• The above procedure is also recommended if you have been warned for using a streaming portal such as Redtube. You can read more about this in this practical tip.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer when a warning is given?

• You do not necessarily need your own lawyer to avoid this risk. The sample letters of the mod. AEs that can be found on the Internet were usually written by lawyers.
• However, you should not forget that a cease and desist declaration is a lifetime contract and a severe contractual penalty may apply if you are again accused of violating the law after submitting a cease and desist letter.
• If you are unsure or want to avoid legal risks, you should still hire a lawyer.

Pay warning sum or not?

After submitting a modified injunction, you must now decide whether you want to pay the warning sum or not.

• If you decide not to pay because you are not aware of any guilt, find the amount excessive or perceive the whole thing as a rip off, you must expect further payment requests / reminders until the statute of limitations. Sometimes a legal notice follows, which must then be contradicted in full.
• Some warning law firms instruct the debt collection company to try to collect the claims. The collection claim should also be contradicted once in order to avoid a Schufa entry.

Summary: This is how you could react to a file sharing warning

As a non-payment recipient, you can therefore consider the following procedure in summary:

• Send modified injunctive relief
• no further contact with the warning lawyer
• Filing reminders
• Disagree with collection or payment orders
• Contact a lawyer as soon as possible when a complaint is received

Perseverance is required

You should always be aware that the warning person has 3 to 4 years to enforce his demands. You can find detailed information on the limitation period in this article. During this period there is always the option to still pay. Even after receiving a complaint, a comparison is still possible, which is often not much more expensive than paying immediately.

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