(1) The proprietor of a trade mark or of a commercial designation may sue the infringer in cases falling under sections 14, 15 and 17 for provision of information regarding the origin and the channels of commerce of unlawfully identified goods or services.
(2) In cases of an obvious legal infringement or in cases where the proprietor of a trade mark or of a commercial designation has brought an action against the infringer, the claim may also be asserted, without prejudice to subsection (1), against a person who, on a commercial scale,
1. had possession of infringing goods,
2. made use of infringing services,
3. provided services used for infringing activities, or
4. according to the information provided by a person referred to in no. 1, 2 or no. 3 participated in manufacturing, creating or distributing such products or participated in the provision of such services,
unless that person would be entitled under sections 383 to 385 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung) to refuse to give testimony in proceedings against the infringer. In the event of assertion of the claim in judicial proceedings under sentence 1, the court may, upon motion, suspend the proceedings pending against the infringer until the proceedings on the claim concerning the provision of information have been concluded. The person obliged to provide the information may demand from the aggrieved party reimbursement of the expenditure for the provision of the information.
(3) The person obliged to provide the information shall give particulars of
1. the name and address of the manufacturers, suppliers and other previous holders of the goods or services as well as of the intended wholesalers and retailers, and
2. the quantity of the goods manufactured, delivered, received or ordered as well as the prices paid for the goods or services concerned.
(4) The claims under subsections (1) and (2) shall be ruled out if such a claim is disproportionate in an individual case.
(5) If the person obliged to provide the information, while acting intentionally or grossly negligently, provides false or incomplete information, he shall be obliged to compensate the proprietor of a trade mark or of a commercial designation for the damage caused.
(6) Any person who provides true information without having been obliged to do so in accordance with subsection (1) or subsection (2) shall be liable to third parties only if he knew that he was not obliged to provide the information.
(7) In cases of an obvious legal infringement, the obligation to provide the information may be imposed by means of an interim injunction in accordance with sections 935 to 945 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(8) In criminal proceedings or in proceedings under the Act on Regulatory Offences (Gesetz über Ordnungswidrigkeiten), the findings may be used against one of the persons obliged on account of an act committed prior to the provision of the information or against a relative referred to in section 52 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozessordnung) only with the consent of the person obliged.
(9) Where the information can be provided only by using traffic data (section 3 no. 70 of the Telecommunications Act [Telekommunikationsgesetz]), a court order regarding the admissibility of the use of the traffic data shall first have to be obtained upon motion by the aggrieved party. For issuance of this order, that regional court (Landgericht) in whose district the person obliged to provide the information has his residence, principal place of business or an establishment shall have exclusive jurisdiction, irrespective of the value in dispute. The civil division shall decide. The provisions of the Act on Proceedings in Family Matters and in Matters of Non-Contentious Jurisdiction (Gesetz über das Verfahren in Familiensachen und in den Angelegenheiten der freiwilligen Gerichtsbarkeit) shall apply to the proceedings accordingly. The costs of the court order shall be borne by the aggrieved party. An appeal from the decision of the regional court shall be an available remedy. The notice of appeal shall be lodged within a time limit of two weeks. The provisions concerning the protection of personal data shall otherwise remain unaffected.
(10) The basic right to privacy of telecommunications shall be restricted (Article 10 of the Basic Law [Grundgesetz]) by subsection (2) in conjunction with subsection (9).