German court finds Uploaded liable for copyright infringement

In Munich, a German court has ruled that the file sharing site Uploaded.net must pay compensation to the copyright organization GEMA. The site would also not have responded to removal requests.

The GEMA states in a press release that until now hosting parties have only been obliged by the court to remove content. However, the current judgment would also include an obligation to pay damages, whereby “composers, writers and publishers receive small compensation for the large-scale infringements of their rights.” The amount of compensation is not yet known, because the verdict is not yet public.

Torrentfreak writes that Uploaded is one of the largest file sharing sites with millions of visitors. The company is part of the Swiss Cyando. The judge held that Uploaded should take a proactive stance on removing infringing content. At the moment that would not be the case. Also, the site should not only ensure removal at the request of rights holders, but also prevent the same content from being re-uploaded by users.

GEMA’s lawyer further informs Torrentfreak that this is not the first case that Uploaded has lost in Germany. In April, the company lost a case against the American Association of American Publishers over e-books.