The alleged offenses apparently took place on RedTube, a streaming video site which from a technical viewpoint is not unlike YouTube. With no uploading taking place, how did the copyright holders obtain the IP addresses of alleged offenders when RedTube insists nothing was handed over?

With that still a mystery and RedTube outraged at this attack on their users, in December the company obtained an injunction to halt the trolls in their tracks. However, an important question still remained unanswered. Is merely viewing a copyrighted stream without permission illegal under current law?

With the controversy storming on the question was posed to the German Government and the Ministry of Justice has just delivered its opinion. The Ministry concludes that the mere viewing of a copyrighted stream without permission is not in itself an act of copyright infringement.

This opinion puts the Government completely at odds with the adult companies behind the thousands of cash settlement letters sent out last year. It also draws a line in the sand between streaming (legal) and regular downloads (illegal).

According to the Ministry of Justice’s opinion the watching of illicit movies on a browser-based streaming site now appears to be permissible (temporary copy), whereas downloading a movie which is stored on a hard drive for later viewing (reproduction) remains illegal.

However, the question of streaming legality is one yet to be decided in Germany’s highest court, and according to the Government the definitive ruling will arrive from outside its borders.

“Whether the use of streaming offerings constitutes a reproduction or violates the rights of authors and holders of related rights has not yet been clarified by the supreme court,” the Ministry told Parliament, adding that the question will ultimately be answered by the European Court of Justice.

In the meantime the announcement will be welcomed by thousands of RedTube users who should be further emboldened not to hand over their hard earned cash.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

The latest scandal to hit Internet users involves users of streaming video site RedTube. Traditionally those simply viewing content on YouTube-like sites have been considered immune to rightsholder threats, but early December thousands of RedTube users received letters demanding 250 euros to make lawsuits go away.

The controversial episode is turning into somewhat of a scandal, not least concerning the mystery of how the lawfirm involved, U & C acting on behalf of a Swiss company called The Archive AG, obtained users’ IP address. RedTube insists it has handed no information to third parties.

With U & C warning that its first wave of 10,000+ letters is just the beginning, RedTube has been fighting back and now has good news for its customers. The adult video site has obtained a temporary injunction against The Archive AG from the Regional Court of Hamburg, meaning that no more letters demanding payment may be sent out.

“This decision is a victory not only for the users of Redtube, but for every person who visits streaming websites,” says Alex Taylor, vice president of RedTube. “It is a clear message that the use of personal information and invasions of privacy for purely financial interests will not be tolerated.”

The injunction is the second major blow for The Archive AG in less than a week. A few days ago the Cologne Regional Court issued a statement which acknowledged that it probably should not have ordered the release of Internet users’ personal details. A full decision is expected during the coming days.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.

Earlier this month, however, there was a new twist to this awful business. Many thousands of individuals began receiving letters from German lawfirm U & C acting on behalf of a Swiss company called The Archive AG. Their claim was that letter recipients had watched several adult titles on the hugely popular adult streaming site RedTube.

Just to put things into perspective, that’s like watching a clip on YouTube and someone coming along with a demand that you pay them cash – a very worrying development indeed.

Wilde Beuger Solmecke, a law firm that specializes in defending Internet users from the threats of copyright trolls, has been working hard on the case and estimates that around 30,000 people have received these demands.

All along the lawfirm has insisted that there is no legal basis for the threats and now, quite amazingly, the court that has been dealing with the case has admitted there may have been a major screw up.

After receiving at least 50 full complaints, the Cologne Regional Court has been reexamining the entire process and now, according to lawyer Christian Solmecke, the Court has made a “spectacular” turnaround.

“Apparently, some of the judges who issued the information decisions now – after knowing the complete situation – have changed their mind (or for the first time formed a complete opinion) and decided that streaming is no longer illegal,” Solmecke explains.

If that is indeed the case, the Court should never have granted The Archive AG’s request to obtain the real-life identities of the RedTube visitors, not least since they had broken no laws. Solmecke says if the Court stands by its ‘new’ interpretation of relevant copyright law (private copying and temporary acts of copying) then visitors to streaming sites should be able to relax once more.

“There are many indications that the judges believe streaming – whether from a legitimate or an unlawful platform – should always regarded as lawful,” Solmecke says.

“For those concerned, the application of this standard would have the advantage that they will not have to worry about the legality of a platform in the future. We have held this legal opinion for a long time.”

The Cologne Regional Court’s decision will be welcomed by all letter recipients but for the Court’s next move we shall have to wait until at least January. The hope is that all 30,000 individuals won’t have to pay a penny and that copyright troll heads will roll. Definitely one to watch.

Source: TorrentFreak, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing and anonymous VPN services.