A German publisher of a critical review of a DVD copying software has been found guilty of aiding and abetting the infringement of copyright because the article linked to the web site of the publisher - although not to the actual software. It's a ridiculous ruling, since links to web sites are often used to ensure there is no mistake in the identity of companies. The music industry was arguing that the product should not have been mentioned at all, but the court (thankfully) disagreed with that.
In its ruling, the court explained that the news ticker report neither constitutes "advertising for the sale of illegal goods" as defined in Section 95a of the German Copyright Act (UrhG), nor does it provide instructions on how to get around technical measures. Instead, this type of reporting is justified by the freedom of the press and is in the public interest. In other words, the court ruled that the press has the right to mention the name of the product, the name of the vendor, and the name of copy protection systems affected by the product.
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