Streaming Porn Is Not Illegal Rules German Court

Earlier this month there were reports that a German law firm has dispatched thousands of threatening letters to people who had used the online streaming service RedTube. The letters demanded a cash payment of 250 Euro per clip due to copyright infringement.

The matter ended up in court and it looks like for now the Germans can continue happily watching their free adult content without breaking the law. The Cologne district court originally allowed law firm Urmann _ Collegen (U+C) to send out the letters on behalf of Swiss rights-holders, but the Court has since changed its mind following numerous complaints.

Many of the complaints focused on the fact that streaming isn’t the same as downloading, it’s not immediately obvious that these kind of sites are an illegal service and that they also wanted to know how The Archive and U+C obtained their IP addresses in order to identify them.

It seems then that this was nothing more than a poorly disguised attempt to extort money from mostly unsuspecting and innocent people, and it’s great see that the legal system corrected the initial mistake.

“It is deplorable that our users were targeted in such an underhanded and malicious manner. Copyright protection is a critical issue and we are overjoyed that German citizens can once again surf the internet without threat of legal penalty. This ruling is a victory not just for RedTube users, but for anyone who accesses a streaming website. It sends a clear message that the exploitation of personal information and the violation of privacy for financial gain will not be tolerated.” Said RedTube Bice President Alex Taylor in an official statement.

A final ruling will be made in January, but for now, the German based users can enjoy the site without fear of prosecution.

Thank you Gigaom for providing us with this information.

Image courtesy of RedTube.