Torrenting in Germany

Last activity 08 May 2021 by Ramses K.

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shelby_santanaMember02 August 2019 13:26:10

Hey guys, my name is Shelby and I moved to Berlin a year ago. I'm new to this forum so please tell me if this topic is okay to post here.
Recently I used Torrents to get new series of a TV show I like. I always used torrents back in my home country and it was fine, I never got fines or so.
I never knew that torrenting is a serious issue here, but then I got a fine for doing it. I got so scared because the fine was big, of course I shared the cost with my roommate, who was also torrenting and didn't know it will cause us such problems. My friends recommended getting Surfshark. It is a VPN that somehow changes my IP address and makes my anonymous online and I can't be tracked for torrenting. My friends said that they always torrent with a VPN and never get fines.
I just wanted to ask maybe someone had a similar experience and could assure that a VPN can help or maybe have some other solutions?. I known that I should stop torrenting, but I don't know where to get movies and TV series from except from torrent sites.
Thank you in advance!

CynicUK / Netherlands Expert02 August 2019 13:49:20

7670

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Using Torrent to download any copyrighted material that you have not bought the rights to use is illegal; if you do it via a VPN, it's harder to track you, but the producers have now got wise to this and include something in the download that when you run the file to watch/listen etc, tells them the real IP address the package is being run from, so they can track you and fine you (again).

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

beppiGermany - Singapore Expert02 August 2019 20:59:41

15326

Using a method that is difficult to track does not make an illegal act less, but rather more illegal - the fine may come later (due to the difficulty finding you), but you can be sure it is much higher!
If you want to stay on the rigfht side of the law, stop downloading copyrighjted material from any other than authorized sources.
Furthermore, it is not allowed (by forum rules) to discuss illegal acts here. Thus please stop the discussion!

BhavnaTeam27 August 2019 12:04:06

40203

Hi everyone,

@ Elips123, what happens if the document/file is copyrighted ?

Regards,
Bhavna

TominStuttgartGermany Expert27 August 2019 14:40:49

2719

Elips123 wrote:
Deluges and p2p document sharing is totally legitimate in Germany. In the event that amazements you, let me clarify: Bittorrent is essentially a filesharing innovation. There is nothing innately awful or illicit about it, and no European nation bans the utilization of Bittorrent.

There are two basic statements here. That a technology for file sharing is in itself not illegal: true. But “Deluges and p2p document sharing is totally legitimate in Germany” is not necessarily true; it depends on copyright laws like already mentioned. And yes, illegally sharing of copyrighted material is a major problem and one could argue the main purpose of such file sharing technology. Thus I would have to consider the post as being confusing if not outright misleading. The OP even mentioned that she got a large fine for using torrent so this doesn't fit to a claim that "no European nation bans its utilization".

Ramses K.Serial expat07 May 2021 10:58:23

358

Downloading and uploading are illegal in the whole EU. See EU law

If you want to watch tv programs , movies or listen to music there are a lot of legal ways to do that. Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Spotify are some examples and yes you will have to pay for it.

beppiGermany - Singapore Expert07 May 2021 20:30:20

15326

Ramses K. wrote:
Downloading and uploading are illegal in the whole EU. See EU law

Only downloading and uploading of copyrighted material is illegal, everything else is o.k.

Ramses K.Serial expat08 May 2021 13:01:11

358

beppi wrote:
Ramses K. wrote:
Downloading and uploading are illegal in the whole EU. See EU law

Only downloading and uploading of copyrighted material is illegal, everything else is o.k.

True but I don't have the feeling they meant the legal material

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