Intellectual property such as music, films, audio books, texts and computer programs are protected in Germany, primarily through the Copyright Act (Urhebergesetz or UrhG for short). According to the act, the creator or owner has the sole and exclusive rights to use and exploit the intellectual creation. The creator or owner can, for example, be a composer, a record company (phonogram producer), a film producer, an author, a publishing house or a maker of computer software. If the Copyright Act or the exclusive exploitation rights entitled to a copyright holder are infringed by a third party (e.g. via illegal file sharing), the injured copyright holder has the right to bring action for injunctive relief and compensation as well as other claims (e.g. for information) against the infringer (cf. Article 97 (1) UrhG). In addition, copyright infringements are criminal acts and can, if criminal charges are brought, be punished by up to 5 years of imprisonment or a fine (cf. Article 106 (1) UrhG).
Despite the clearly defined legal situation, intellectual property is currently being constantly infringed against on a massive scale, especially on the internet. This primarily takes place in file sharing networks such as eMule, eDonkey, BitTorrent and via one-click or file hosters such as Rapidshare and Megaupload. According to a current study by the University of Ballarat (Australia), conducted in spring 2010 and commissioned by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT), 90% of BitTorrent links contain copyright-protected material and are thus illegal. This unauthorized use has an enormously negative impact on the affected creative industries, causing immense economic damages and losses extending to existential threats to both creative professionals as well as the entire media and entertainment industry. This is why the legal protection of intellectual property is of major significance not for just the creative industry, but for the preservation of cultural diversity and for Germany as a seat of science.
In 2008 alone over 300 million music files were illegally pirated via global, internet-based networks that are frequently downplayed by being referred to as “file sharing networks”. This causes billions of euros worth of losses in Germany each year. According to the internet study conducted by ipoque GmbH in 2007, the use of file sharing networks accounts for approx. 70% of overall internet traffic in Germany. The Phonographic Business Association of Germany estimates the economic damage arising from this at approx. one billion euros annually. According to GfK’s latest “Brenner-Studie” the number of people illegally sharing files in Germany is estimated at between 4.4 (2005) and 2.9 (2009) million. A study on the impact of illegal downloads on the German and European creative industry recently published by the International Chamber of Commerce concludes that in Germany alone the illegal use of copyright-protected content on the internet in 2008 was responsible for damages of 1.2 billion euros in the production and distribution of movies, TV series, music and software and the loss of 34,000 jobs.
Details about the aforementioned statistics and studies are available on the internet from the following links:
- http://www.musikindustrie.de/statistik-publikationen/
- http://www.musikindustrie.de/aktuell_einzel/back/84/news/brennerstudie-2010/
- http://www.ard-zdf-onlinestudie.de/
- http://www.original-ist-genial.de/fileadmin/icc_dokumente/BuildingDigitalEconomyGerman.pdf
- http://www.original-ist-genial.de/home/single-news/article/12-millionen-jobs-durch-piraterie-bedroht.html
- http://www.ipoque.com/resources/internet-studies/internet-study-2007
- http://www.icc-deutschland.de/fileadmin/ICC_Dokumente/BuildingDigitalEconomyGerman.pdf
- http://www.afact.org.au/research/bt_report_final.pdf
- www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/108321
- www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/104776