Wi-fi owner fined for lax security in Germany

German citizens are responsible for the security of their own private wireless connections, a court has ruled. The ruling comes after a musician sued the owner of a network connection that had been used to illegally download and file-share music.

The owner had proof that the householder was on holiday at the time but the court ruled that the network should have been password-protected. The court's verdict was that the owner could be fined up to 100 euros (£86).

"Private users are obligated to check whether their wireless connection is adequately secured to the danger of unauthorized third parties abusing it to commit copyright violation," the court in Karlsruhe said. While it did not find the owner guilty of actual copyright violation the ruling was that the person must take a degree of responsibility for their connection being used to break the law.

British intellectual property barrister David Harris described the verdict as "eccentric". "I don't think there is any prospect that a UK court would follow that guideline," he said. "There is no criminal provision in English law that requires you to secure a wi-fi connection, and currently no liability for the acts of another party if they misuse your connection."