This article is a personal experience of an Expat in Germany

Illegal downloading is a major issue in Germany and when internationals like me come to Germany the first time, they just don’t get it. Because who can think of just downloading a favorite song can make you pay a 3 digit fine. Sounds scary, right? But I am sure if you are reading this either you have already received a letter (Abmahnung) from the lawyer or you are just thinking of downloading something from the web. So please be careful about a few things. The illegal download can lead you to pay a hefty fine or imprisonment. 

Why am I guilty for streaming a movie?

German laws are very strict for sharing copyright content. If you are sharing any file containing any copyrighted content. It is illegal you have to pay the fine. I downloaded a movie from torrent and received a letter to pay a fine of €1500. Users of illegal streaming services can also get in trouble because of a decision from the European Court of Justice. This rule came in April 2017. Using service like torrent makes you automatically share the file that you are downloading which is illegal and you have to pay for the service.

How they identify who did the illegal download?

The German Law firms hire the third party to track that. They track the IP addresses for the illegal download and as they are supported by the law firms, so they can legally ask your service provider to provide all the details of your downloads and the data what you have done and according to it they will decide the fine or the punishment. 

If someone else was using your internet?

If the connection is on your name you will receive a letter. To which you can reply it wasn’t you and by the system’s IP address they can check who actually did that. But even in this case as per the law you both will be responsible.  

Where can I watch movies or download music?

There are a lot of websites for online streaming. Online streaming is not illegal, you can watch the movie online on channels like Amazon (read how to get Amazon prime for free here), Netflix or Disney plus. There are applications and music channels like Amazon music (get 3 month Amazon music free here), Spotify and iTunes you can use these channels for  music downloads. For people who have a hotstar account. You can add a plugin name HOlA in your chrome and you can use hot start in Germany as it is not available in Europe yet.  

I hope now you have some understanding about downloading in Germany in general.  If you have further questions, you can interact in our Forum.