Well, let me counter with another wikipedia link: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privatkopie (sorry, no english translation). Basically, the idea was that with the creation of tape machines it's impossible to control private copying and sharing without criminalizing large proportions of the population and thus a better form of payment for the rights holder was required.
So the deal is that we germans pay for each device that can be used to copy copyright-protected media a certain fee. A copy/fax machine costs roughly 10 euros in fees, the DVD writer as well, high-end dvd copiers up to 1000 bucks, the raw media a couple of cents, harddrives, ... - regardless of whether it's used to copy media or only for backups. In turn the private copying and sharing is allowed within reasonable bounds (usually family and good friends, a common limit seems to be around 7 copies that you can give away).
I'm not allowed to crack "effective" DRM schemes or protected media - whatever "effective" in this context means, but CSS has so far not been ruled effective afaik. Otherwise, this is completely legal and does not depend on the method of sharing nor does it depend on where the actual file is located.
Nor does it contradict the Berne Convention which basically treats how copyright is asserted and some minimum protection durations, but not every detail. For example american fair use permissions seem to allow for far more uses than the german "Zitatrecht" which can be actually quite limited (up to protecting single phrase or parts of phrases). (disclaimer: I'm interested in german copyright law, but I'm certainly not a lawyer)
So my example holds: If I store my ripped version of a dvd on a cyberlocker and share it with my brother, that's legal. If I share it with my ex-roommate with which I've been sharing a flat for 8 years an whom I call a good friend, that's just fine. If I share it with you, that's illegal and no one will be able to tell.
So the deal is that we germans pay for each device that can be used to copy copyright-protected media a certain fee. A copy/fax machine costs roughly 10 euros in fees, the DVD writer as well, high-end dvd copiers up to 1000 bucks, the raw media a couple of cents, harddrives, ... - regardless of whether it's used to copy media or only for backups. In turn the private copying and sharing is allowed within reasonable bounds (usually family and good friends, a common limit seems to be around 7 copies that you can give away). I'm not allowed to crack "effective" DRM schemes or protected media - whatever "effective" in this context means, but CSS has so far not been ruled effective afaik. Otherwise, this is completely legal and does not depend on the method of sharing nor does it depend on where the actual file is located.
Nor does it contradict the Berne Convention which basically treats how copyright is asserted and some minimum protection durations, but not every detail. For example american fair use permissions seem to allow for far more uses than the german "Zitatrecht" which can be actually quite limited (up to protecting single phrase or parts of phrases). (disclaimer: I'm interested in german copyright law, but I'm certainly not a lawyer)
So my example holds: If I store my ripped version of a dvd on a cyberlocker and share it with my brother, that's legal. If I share it with my ex-roommate with which I've been sharing a flat for 8 years an whom I call a good friend, that's just fine. If I share it with you, that's illegal and no one will be able to tell.