Man in Germany Asked to Pay R34k After His Friend Downloaded Movies Online Using His Laptop

• A man living in Germany said he is battling a case of copyright after his friend downloaded two movies in the country
• He said he was not the one who watched the movies, but the IP address was traced to his computer, and he was fined R34,475
• The man, Baluku Walter, said he had to hire a lawyer to help him battle the case, and he ended up spending R25,190

A man who was new in Germany said a friend used his laptop to download movies online.

A few weeks later, he received letters from the owners of the movies asking him to pay for copyright infringement.

The man, Baluku Walter, said the movies downloaded by his friend belonged to Warner Brothers.

He noted that he was asked to pay R34,475 for the two movies.

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Baluku said he protested and hired a lawyer to handle the case for him, and the money was slashed down to R25,190.

He said the money he was asked to pay included the legal fees he incurred while battling the case.

In a TikTok video, Baluku warned people new to Germany not to download movies online as it is a crime.

Is it illegal to download movies in Germany?

An article published by All About Berlin states:

"When you torrent movies, your IP address is visible to others. Some law firms monitor torrents of famous movies, and collect the IP addresses of people who download them. If they see your IP address, they can ask your ISP to give them your real address. They can send you an Abmahnung: a formal request to pay them between R10k and R30k."

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Reactions as man pays fine in Germany

Social media users were amazed, and some shared their experiences.

@Kofi Capo reacted:

"Got a fine of 900 euros for the same reason, I never paid and haven’t heard from them in about 6 months."

@Jeremiah commented:

"I learnt a lesson from you today thanks for sharing."

Mzansi calls SA ‘Banana Republic’ over illegal foreigners R18 billion RAF claim

Meanwhile, Briefly News shared that Mzansi calls SA the Banana Republic, and over R18 billion has been paid out to foreign claimants in the last five years. RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo says illegal foreigners refuse to submit documents, but courts support them either way.

Even after the bill proposed by RAF to exclude foreign nationals from claiming compensation, they still milk it.

Source: Legit.ng