(1) Any person who uses a patented invention contrary to sections 9 to 13 may be sued by the aggrieved party for provision of information, without delay, regarding the origin and the channel of commerce of the products used.
(2) In cases of an obvious legal infringement or in cases where the aggrieved party 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 products,
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 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 to refuse to give testimony in proceedings against the infringer. In the event of assertion of the claim under sentence 1 in judicial proceedings, 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 must provide particulars of
1. the names and addresses of the manufacturers, suppliers and other previous holders of the products or of the users of the services, as well as of the intended wholesalers and retailers, and
2. the quantity of the products manufactured, delivered, received or ordered, as well as the prices paid for the products or services concerned.
(4) Claims under subsections (1) and (2) are ruled out if their assertion is disproportionate in an individual case.
(5) If the person obliged to provide the information, while acting intentionally or gross negligently, provides false or incomplete information, then that person is obliged to compensate the aggrieved party 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) is liable to third parties only if they knew that they were 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 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 (Ordnungswidrigkeitengesetz) 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 Civil Procedure 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 is first to be obtained upon motion by the aggrieved party. For issuance of this order, that regional court in whose district the person obliged to provide the information has his or her residence, principal place of business or an establishment has exclusive jurisdiction, irrespective of the value in dispute. The civil division decides. 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) apply to the proceedings accordingly. The costs of the court order are borne by the aggrieved party. An appeal from the regional court’s decision is an available remedy. The notice of appeal is to be lodged within a time limit of two weeks. The provisions concerning the protection of personal data otherwise remain unaffected.
(10) The basic right to privacy of telecommunications is restricted (Article 10 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz)) by subsection (2) in conjunction with subsection (9).