(1) Any person who infringes copyright or another right protected under this Act on a commercial scale may be required by the injured party to provide information without delay as to the origin and the distribution networks of infringing copies or other products. The commercial scale may be deemed to exist on the basis either of the number of infringements or the severity of the infringement.
(2) In cases of manifest infringement or in cases where the injured party has brought a court action against the infringer, such a right also exists, without prejudice to subsection (1), against any person who, on a commercial scale,
1. was in possession of infringing copies,
2. was using infringing services,
3. was rendering services used in infringing activities or
4. was indicated by the person referred to in no. 1, 2 or 3 as being involved in the production, manufacture or distribution of such copies, other products or services,
unless the person concerned would, under sections 383 to 385 of the Code of Civil Procedure, be entitled to refuse testimony as a witness in the proceedings against the infringer. In the event of a claim under sentence 1 being brought before a court, the court may, upon application, suspend the litigation pending against the infringer until disposal of any litigation being conducted in respect of a right to information. The person obliged to provide information may demand reimbursement from the injured party of the expenses necessarily incurred in providing the information.
(3) The person obliged to provide information must supply the following information:
1. the name and address of the producers, suppliers and other previous holders of the copies or other products, the users of the services, as well as the intended wholesalers and retailers, and
2. the quantities of produced, delivered, received or ordered copies or other products, as well as the prices paid for the copies or other products in question.
(4) The claims under subsections (1) and (2) are precluded where their assertion is disproportionate in the individual case.
(5) Where the person obliged to provide information intentionally or gross negligently provides incorrect or incomplete information, that person is obliged to reimburse the injured party for the resulting damage.
(6) Any person who provides truthful information without having been obliged to do so in accordance with subsection (1) or (2) is only held liable against third parties if they knew that they were not obliged to provide the information.
(7) In the event of an obvious infringement, the obligation to provide information may be issued by way of a temporary injunction pursuant to sections 935 to 945 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(8) The findings may be used in criminal proceedings or in proceedings based on the Act on Regulatory Offences (Ordnungswidrigkeitengesetz) in respect of an act committed before the information was provided against the person obliged to provide information or against a relative designated in section 52 (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Strafprozeßordnung) only with the consent of the person obliged to provide information.
(9) Where the information can be provided only by using traffic data (section 3 no. 70 of the Telecommunications Act (Telekommunikationsgesetz)), a prior judicial order, which must be applied for by the injured party as to the admissibility of use of the traffic data, is required for the provision of such information. Sole jurisdiction for issuing any such order, regardless of the value of the claim, lies with the regional court in whose district the person obliged to provide information has his or her domicile, principal place of business or a place of business. The decision is rendered by the civil division. 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 accordingly to the proceedings. The costs of the judicial order are borne by the injured party. The remedy of a complaint (Beschwerde) is admissible in respect of the regional court’s decision. It must be filed within a period of two weeks. The provisions on the protection of personal data otherwise remain unaffected.
(10 The fundamental right to privacy of telecommunications (Article 10 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz)) is restricted on account of subsection (2) read in conjunction with subsection (9).