over 1,000 German users<\/a> This means that for the first time there is a realistic risk that not only providers, but also end customers will receive mail from the public prosecutor's office or a cease and desist letter from the rights holders.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLegal assessment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Criminal law.<\/strong> Anyone who accesses paid streams from an obviously illegal source can be prosecuted under Section 106 of the German Copyright Act (UrhG) (imprisonment of up to three years or a fine). The reason: Streaming creates technical intermediate copies. The European Court of Justice ruled in the "Filmspeler" case (C-527\/15) that these copies are no longer covered by the private copying exception if the source is obviously illegal. In practice, however, for mere users, it usually ends with a fine or the case being dropped. Operators and resellers face significantly harsher penalties: they are considered to be acting commercially (Section 108a UrhG, imprisonment of up to five years). However, the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) ruled on June 12, 2025, that card sharing does not constitute computer fraud (Section 263a of the German Criminal Code).<\/p>\n\n\n\nCivil law.<\/strong> Regardless of criminal proceedings, rights holders such as Sky or DAZN can take civil action: with a cease-and-desist letter including a declaration of discontinuance (\u00a7 97a German Copyright Act), with damages based on the so-called license analogy and reimbursement of legal fees (\u00a7 97 German Copyright Act), as well as with requests for information (\u00a7 101 German Copyright Act). For users, this can quickly result in costs of several hundred to over 1,000 euros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n