Hi, I've not been in Germany very long and my German isn't very good yet.

Anyway, today I received a letter from Kornmeier & Partner Rechtsanwalte about a movie I downloaded via Bittorrent last May, I think some other people on this forum received the same letter.

As I understand it, I have to delete the file and sign the included form, and then pay them 525 Euro's

Could someone please give me a short summary in English about what I'm actually signing and admitting to, and what would be the best thing to do?

Thank you.

There's a long thread in this forum about the solicitors who wrote to you. Basically the form they send is an admission of guilt, an agreement to pay their costs and in addition very high penalties if you are caught again.

Those who post here regularly all recommend drawing up a modified "Unterlassungserklärung" using the pattern which has been made available. The recommendation includes sending a covering letter giving no further details, but you can then expect a series of reminders most of which can be ignored unless they come from a local court (Amtsgericht or Landgericht).

If you feel that you cannot deal with this on your own, there is a list of recommended lawyers. You do not necessarily need to choose one near your home, since there is little problem in dealing with these cases by fax and eMail. Most of them will offer advice initially free of charge and then you need to agree on an all-inclusive sum for their efforts. It is also possible to apply for legal aid (Beratungshilfe) in these cases and again a lawyer should be able to help you with that.

EDIT: Have a nice time in Germany!

Just thought I would explain my final remark with a little game of words. These warning letters (Abmahnungen) need to be taken seriously but not too seriously:

In Britain there is or was a problem with mad cow disease (Rinderwahn), in Germany there is mad law disease (Abmahnwahn).

In Britain you find mad cows lowing (=mooing), in Germany you find mad lawyers cowing (=intimidating) the population.