Germany has passed a law that limits the height of fines for digital pirates. Internet users that illegally download copyright protected content can receive fines with a maximum of $1300. A first offender can receive a warning for which the maximum fine is set to $200, an amount is considered to be sufficient to cover legal expenses for copyright holders. In Germany there are law firms specialized in sending out mass e-mail to pirates in which they demand huge fines for copyright infringement.
According to the Federation of German Consumer Organisations as much as 4.3 million of the countries 82 million inhabitants have received such an e-mail. The law firms demand an average of $1000 per offense and the new law should put restrictions on this practice. According to Germany's Justice Minster the law firms have created their own business model around copyright violations and it has got 'out of control'.
The law firms that sent out the mails don't agree. They argue that the law gives a wrong signal to internet users. He warns that they should not consider the new legislation a 'free ticket for illegal file-sharing'. The law firms might soon find a way to abuse a loophole in the law that makes it possible to give higher fines for special cases. Unfortunately the legislation doesn't clearly describe that those special cases are which means they can be widely interpreted.
