Доброго времени суток.
Извините, я в танке и первый раз по нужде обращаюсь к форумам, поэтому не нашла окошка с новым сообщением, пришлось отвечать на Ваше.

Пишу на форум, так как являюсь тем самым гостем, что раздавал файлы со своего компьютера через сеть друзей, у которых гостила в Германии.

Предыстория звучит так, что перед приездом меня просили накачать фильмов, так как у них не было в доме интернета. Однако, его подключили буквально за день до моего прибытия. Качала через торренты, конечно, в ночь перед приездом, так что утром просто захлопнула ноут и отправилась в аэропорт. Я не была в теме нелегальных раздач, и друзья меня не предупредили,так как тоже не были в курсе, насколько мне говорят. В общем, первый штраф им пришёл на 1700 евро. Они меня шантажировали сначала этой суммой, после деньгами на адвоката. Выслала 360 евро на правовика, который обещал полностью замять дело, но, конечно же, все вылилось в очередное письмо, теперь уже прошена сниженная сумма - 1020 евро. Они не хотят доводить дело до суда, хотя адвокат в письме вроде четко сказал, что, предоставив доказательства моего прибывания, с них снимут обвинения, а так же не смогут ничего стянуть и с меня, так как проживаю в Польше. Они не хотят доводить дело до суда, так как бояться проиграть и в результате заплатить доросший до космических высот долг плюс судебные издержки. То есть, с меня сейчас вымогают (именно так) 1020 евро, угрожая, что якобы они найдут способ стянуть с меня эти деньги, даже если я откажусь их платить. А стоит ли?

Как вы думаете, как лучше поступить?

Или как бы вы поступили? Есть ли у них реальный шанс выиграть суд, предоставив какие доказательства моего прибывания? Фото? Билеты?Живу в Польше, так что виз нет.

Конечно, не хочу сама эту сумму платить, но и им этого тоже не желаю.

Вот письмо, что прислал адвокат, нас интересует пункт 2. Б, но, возможно, остальная информация тоже существенна, поэтому оставлю без изменений :

Dear Mr.,

In your case, we have currently received a letter from the opponent. These standard letters are sent by the other party in each comparable individual case. In the initial situation, however, this letter does not change anything. As we have already described in the first telephone consultation, the other side is currently facing the problem that the legislature has abolished the Störerhaftung for W-LAN operators (§ 8 para 3 TMG), and thus in any case if the connection owner for the download itself is not responsible - according to § 8 Abs. 1 S. 2 TMG (Telemediengesetz) no claims for damages, omission or reimbursement of legal fees against you can be asserted. Your case clearly falls under the new legal situation and is therefore difficult for Waldorf and his clients.

In your case threatens from the point of view of Waldorf although no limitation of all financial claims soon. An action in advance would be possible and is not completely excluded. However, to date there has not been a single legal proceeding with a court decision on the new legal situation (ie your "type" of case) because Waldorf Frommer hesitates (probably for tactical reasons and not to create a hasty precedent) to bring new cases to court.

However, it should also be noted that Waldorf Frommer is one of the few law firms in Germany, which has brought filesharing-lawsuits in the past also nationwide. At the moment, however, the office only sued old cases from the years 2016 and 2017, only then will the cases from 2018 follow and so on. It can be seen that in all likelihood you will still have a lot of time in your case.

Regardless of this, you should now consider whether you want to settle with Waldorf out-of-court or have it come to court.

Ahead: The comparison offer submitted by Waldorf in the attached letter, we receive in this form since autumn 2017. We had already told you so in the initial consultation. For the first time, Waldorf, after having negotiated with the firm once again in principle, offers you a reduction of the original receivable of about 40%. You must expect that this offer will not be maintained in the further course, but in the case of a legal dispute, the matter could become considerably more expensive. In any case, there are no empirical values yet for how long Waldorf will maintain this offer.

1. Cost risk of a court dispute:

Getting it on a trial with the other side only makes sense if you have defense opportunities. Because a court case only results in further avoidable costs. First of all, what does it cost to be sued by Waldorf?

In the case of a lawsuit, for example, if a claim is made for EUR 1,500.00, additional costs will be incurred solely for the legal dispute of EUR 867.00 (for two lawyers and court costs). This means that there is a total cost risk of EUR 2,367.00,

If only € 1,000.00 are claimed, the additional costs of € 680.00 will be charged (our attorney's fees, Waldorf's legal fees and court costs). This means that there is a total cost risk of EUR EUR 1,680.00.

All this, however, only applies to the first instance. The appeal will incur additional costs. You can calculate this precisely using a process cost calculator: https://anwaltverein.de/de/service/prozesskostenrechner

2. Your case: defense opportunities available

In your case, we have noted in the file that there may be opportunities for defense because friends of yours were responsible for the infringement. Now it is important to consider whether they would stand up in a judicial process and whether you want to take the risk.

The following defense opportunities, with their respective advantages and disadvantages, are generally considered for defense in court:

a. Responsible is an adult person from Germany

You have not committed the infringement, but in your case is your friend or boyfriend, roommate or visitor or other adult family member responsible for the infringement? Then you must know the following:

If a third adult person is responsible, you must be able to name these specifically in the procedure (name and address). If necessary, this person will also be invited as a witness. Also, you must know that this person, who is actually responsible for the infringement, is then himself liable and can be sued by Waldorf. So you need to think about whether this would be okay for you and if you want this.

If you can appoint a responsible third person and it is okay for you to be liable and to be entitled to the payment claims, we would advise you not to sign the attached settlement offer and to risk a trial.

If you could designate a responsible third person, but it is not okay for you to be liable (for example, if you have adult family members or a good relationship with the infringer), we would advise you to consider the proposed settlement offer. You will not be able to achieve a more favorable conclusion even in the case of settlement talks in court (as the procedural costs are added here and the total amount claimed is also higher).

b. Responsible is an adult person from abroad

If, in your case, a third person (adult) who is actually resident abroad is responsible for the injury, there are very good chances for a defense. A person from abroad? For example, this is often the case with sub-leases through AirBnB or when visiting foreign family members or friends. In this case, you, as a connected party, must be able to specifically name the person in the proceedings. Evidence may serve here as the designation of witnesses or, for example, the booking confirmation of AirBnB. In this case you are not liable as a connecting owner and also the infringer residing abroad will not be sued by Waldorf according to the current state of knowledge here.

If your case is in this form, we would probably advise you not to sign the attached settlement offer and to have it come to court.

c. Several people had access and opportunity, none agreed to be responsible

You did not commit the infringement, but at the time of the infringement several people entitled to access had access to your Internet connection and were in principle able to commit the infringement in time and in terms of technology. You suspect that one of these people was responsible because it could not have been otherwise, but none of them has admitted the violation to you so far. There are certainly chances for defense in this constellation. Here, however, you must remember that you must name all authorized users in the process and that they may also be invited as witnesses. Ultimately, what matters is what the evidence takes and how the court assesses it.

You need to think about whether you want to accept the offer to settle quickly or whether you want to have it come to court.

3. Conclusion

So, depending on how your chances of defense and the relationship with the person involved are shaping up for you, it is now up to you to decide whether you want it to come to court or whether you want to settle with Waldorf lawyers out of court.

a. You do not want to settle?

If you let it come to a legal proceeding, then you can leave the attached letter simply uncommented and have nothing else to arrange. Should Waldorf in the near future apply for a reminder or make a lawsuit in court, this will be sent to you by post. Please inform us immediately, so that we can appeal or show your defense.

b. You want to settle?

If, for personal or other reasons, you do not want to get involved in a legal proceeding, you can sign the attached settlement offer (page - „Zahlungsverpflichtung“). It is, as I said, at least a very favorable offer from the other side. Send the signed form directly to Waldorf, you only have to make the required payments and the matter is finally settled. If you compare yourself with Waldorf in this way, please let us know via e-mail.

Yours faithfully