Frankfurt—Global law firm Dentons helped to secure a landmark ruling from the Higher Regional Court of Celle for Sky Deutschland in a dispute against a card-sharing operator, which decoded and published Sky’s pay TV signals.

In February 2016, the Regional Court of Verden sentenced the card-sharing operator to a year in prison for 65 cases of computer fraud. The Higher Regional Court of Celle rejected the defendant’s appeal, and for the first time, a Higher Court in Germany has confirmed the classification of card sharing as computer fraud.

The defendant, a Sky subscriber, violated Sky’s General Terms and Conditions by passing the decoding passwords on to his German customers. Although the card-sharing operator stated in his own Terms and Conditions that only users outside the European Union are legally entitled to use the sending signals, his customers were based in Germany.

With more than 4.6 million customers and an annual turnover of €2 billion Sky is the market leader in pay TV in Germany and Austria.

The Dentons team, led by Partner Dr. Constantin Rehaag, advised Sky on all legal questions and provided guidance on litigation strategy.

Advisor Sky Deutschland GmbH:
Dentons (Frankfurt): Dr. Constantin Rehaag, M.A. (Partner, Intellectual Property and Technology), Karoline Heidkamp (Associate, Intellectual Property and Technology)

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