Amendment to the law on injunctive relief liability (Störerhaftung)!

Many restaurant and café operators have been waiting for some time for the amendment to the law that is to abolish injunctive relief liability (Störerhaftung) for open WLAN. It has now come into force. But is the path actually clear for public WLAN, or do connection holders still face warnings if users of the open WLAN engage in illegal file-sharing?

The amendment to the law on injunctive relief liability (Störerhaftung)

In the Telemediengesetz (TMG), WLAN operators have now been placed on an equal footing with ordinary providers through the "Second Law to Amend the Telemediengesetz".

However, the fact that operators of an open WLAN are not liable as injunctive relief holders (Störer) is stated only in the statement of reasons for the law, not in the legislative text itself. Courts are not bound by the statement of reasons, so that connection holders may continue to be pursued as injunctive relief holders for injunctions and reimbursement of legal costs.

At least those who operate an open WLAN on a commercial basis will hopefully soon receive clarity regarding injunctive relief liability (Störerhaftung). A corresponding judgment from the EuGH is expected shortly.

Conclusion

Whether the actual purpose of the amendment to the law—to promote the expansion of public WLAN hotspots in Germany—will be achieved is questionable. There continues to be a certain amount of uncertainty for WLAN hotspot providers. Warnings will continue to be directed at connection holders in the future. The connection holder must, even if he can prove that he had an open WLAN at the time of the copyright infringement, expect to be held liable at least for an injunction and reimbursement of the warning costs—many will not wish to take this risk.