Ask a lawyer on the topic of Copyright law

What is covered by copyright?

December 28, 2009 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla

I wanted to inquire about what falls under copyright? My son came across a website with a lot of games, music, videos... and now I want to know if it is permissible to download them without any issues?

Thank you in advance.
Kind regards

Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla

Dear Seeker,

Thank you for your inquiry!

I would like to address your questions considering the situation you have described as follows:

It is almost impossible to provide a conclusive list of what can be protected under copyright. It must first be a work within the meaning of copyright law, which exhibits a certain level of creativity.

I have provided a very interesting link for further research on this topic:

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sch%C3%B6pfungsh%C3%B6he

The forms you mentioned (games, music, videos) generally constitute copyrighted works, as they exhibit this level of creativity. Therefore, if your son downloads and/or reproduces such works without the consent of the copyright holder, he may face claims for damages and injunctions, up to a criminal complaint.

I would like to point out the following to you:

The legal advice I have provided is based solely on the information you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive evaluation of the circumstances.

Therefore, adding or omitting relevant information may result in a completely different legal assessment.

I hope my explanations have been helpful to you. You are welcome to contact me within the scope of the follow-up option on this portal or via my email address.

I wish you a pleasant Monday afternoon!

Best regards,

Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law

Heilsbergerstr. 16
27580 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Tel. 0471/3088132
Fax. 0471/57774