Vetter Wins One For Olbertz

CK - Washington.   Blogger.de-provider Olbertz provides blog services to bloggers. Novitel has problems. Presumably, an employee blogged about working conditions. Novitel sued Olbertz, arguing, inter alia that he should release servers and data for seizure and inspection, and that he is personally liable for the acts of the blogger.de writers. Attorney Udo Vetter, of law blog fame, won the injunction proceedings for Olbertz today at the Berlin local court. Olbertz and Vetter agreed that Vetter would provide a report on the matter on his blog. The court declined to hold the blog service provider personally responsible for the writings of users. In particular, it found that the lack of compliance with the Impressum requirement by users does not enable a third party to pierce the shield afforded the service provider under the ISP statutes. The requirement is an odius anti-anonymity rule that has caused fears of non-compliance even when compliance is not required, such as in non-commercial internet activities. Some lawyers and organizations specialize in the pursuit of web writers, which can be a lucrative line of business. Congratulations to Vetter and Olbertz in convincing the court where to draw the line!