4 ms·

Given you are operating in Germany, where sending people cease-and-desist letters (Abmahnungen) purely for monetary gain, I would highly reccomend you to take g

Given you are operating in Germany, where sending people cease-and-desist letters (Abmahnungen) purely for monetary gain, I would highly reccomend you to take good care of compliance topics like having a proper Impressum (mandatory contact page). Unless of course if you plan on never ever growing it into a business, then you might get away with Njalla and cloudflare as invisibility cloak...

gab_ 2y ago
Yes, of course, but at the moment the site is only there to try out my idea and evaluate its potential.
- lukan 2y ago
  Likely nothing will happen, but the way it looks, it is not obvious it is only for testing and you now posted it in the open and there seems a comercial intent. The law is quite clear there last time I checked, it needs an adress. (Even for uncomercial projects it seems advisable).
- farbklang 2y ago
  That doesn't matter. Impressumspflicht means it's your pflicht to have an Impressum. You can also get an Abmahnung as an individual.
  - WhatsName 2y ago
    That is in principle correct, but since OP is using a throwaway and a know anonymous domain service. As long as he burns bridges after himself (eg. not making it into a adressable business later), there is not individual to deliver a letter to. Might work for a while, but a dangerous game to play...
  - echoangle 2y ago
    It’s a bit more nuanced, you don’t need a Impressum for purely personal websites without financial background. Evaluating a business idea would probably count as financial motive though, even if it isn’t currently monetized.
    - moeffju 2y ago
      The economics don't matter, everything that is regularly updated or offers a service needs an Impressum. The exception for "purely personal or familial" use clearly doesn't apply here because a service is being provided actively.
      - echoangle 2y ago
        Here’s the law: https://dejure.org/gesetze/TMG/5.html https://dejure.org/gesetze/TMG/5.html It mandates a Impressum for „ geschäftsmäßige, in der Regel gegen Entgelt angebotene Telemedien“. If it’s not geschäftsmäßig (Business-Like?), you don’t need an Impressum. If you do it for free without any intention to make money now or later, it’s not geschäftsmäßig. If I have a blog that I update regularly but don’t have any ads from or take donations for, I don’t need an Impressum.
  - slightwinder 2y ago
    Impressumspflicht only applies for commercial interests. If you are a company informing or even selling something, if you are an influencer making money of yourself, or even if you just have ads on your Pokemon-fanpage, then it counts as commercial interest. But I don't see any direct monetary value on this site at the moment. There is not even a reputation-gain, as there is no personal information. So Impressumspflicht would not apply.
leobg 2y ago
The irony is… if you don’t have an impressum, where should they send their abmahnung? :) In 2008, they could still look up your WHOIS. But this doesn’t work anymore since GDPR.
- echoangle 2y ago
  I can’t positively claim that’s the case but I wouldn’t be surprised if your registrar has to give out your information if a valid legal claim comes in.
  - Teever 2y ago
    How can your registrar confirm that it is a valid legal claim?
    - lukan 2y ago
      Authorities have ways to mark their letters. And one usually ignores them at own risk and cost.
      - echoangle 2y ago
        The problem is that an Abmahnung doesn’t really come from some state authority but just a lawyer. Maybe confirming that it’s from a real lawyer would be enough though.
        leobg 2y ago
        I think you’d need to get a court order. You may be able to get that if you are a direct competitor. Essentially, unless you have a competitor who has a keen interest in making your life miserable, nothing will happen. The days were lawyers themselves could send you ceise and desist letters just to earn some money are long gone.
        lukan 2y ago

gab_ 2y ago

Yes, of course, but at the moment the site is only there to try out my idea and evaluate its potential.

lukan 2y ago
Likely nothing will happen, but the way it looks, it is not obvious it is only for testing and you now posted it in the open and there seems a comercial intent. The law is quite clear there last time I checked, it needs an adress. (Even for uncomercial projects it seems advisable).
farbklang 2y ago
That doesn't matter. Impressumspflicht means it's your pflicht to have an Impressum. You can also get an Abmahnung as an individual.
- WhatsName 2y ago
  That is in principle correct, but since OP is using a throwaway and a know anonymous domain service. As long as he burns bridges after himself (eg. not making it into a adressable business later), there is not individual to deliver a letter to. Might work for a while, but a dangerous game to play...
- echoangle 2y ago
  It’s a bit more nuanced, you don’t need a Impressum for purely personal websites without financial background. Evaluating a business idea would probably count as financial motive though, even if it isn’t currently monetized.
  - moeffju 2y ago
    The economics don't matter, everything that is regularly updated or offers a service needs an Impressum. The exception for "purely personal or familial" use clearly doesn't apply here because a service is being provided actively.
    - echoangle 2y ago
      Here’s the law: https://dejure.org/gesetze/TMG/5.html https://dejure.org/gesetze/TMG/5.html It mandates a Impressum for „ geschäftsmäßige, in der Regel gegen Entgelt angebotene Telemedien“. If it’s not geschäftsmäßig (Business-Like?), you don’t need an Impressum. If you do it for free without any intention to make money now or later, it’s not geschäftsmäßig. If I have a blog that I update regularly but don’t have any ads from or take donations for, I don’t need an Impressum.
- slightwinder 2y ago
  Impressumspflicht only applies for commercial interests. If you are a company informing or even selling something, if you are an influencer making money of yourself, or even if you just have ads on your Pokemon-fanpage, then it counts as commercial interest. But I don't see any direct monetary value on this site at the moment. There is not even a reputation-gain, as there is no personal information. So Impressumspflicht would not apply.

leobg 2y ago

The irony is… if you don’t have an impressum, where should they send their abmahnung? :) In 2008, they could still look up your WHOIS. But this doesn’t work anymore since GDPR.

echoangle 2y ago
I can’t positively claim that’s the case but I wouldn’t be surprised if your registrar has to give out your information if a valid legal claim comes in.
- Teever 2y ago
  How can your registrar confirm that it is a valid legal claim?
  - lukan 2y ago
    Authorities have ways to mark their letters. And one usually ignores them at own risk and cost.
    - echoangle 2y ago
      The problem is that an Abmahnung doesn’t really come from some state authority but just a lawyer. Maybe confirming that it’s from a real lawyer would be enough though.
      - leobg 2y ago
        I think you’d need to get a court order. You may be able to get that if you are a direct competitor. Essentially, unless you have a competitor who has a keen interest in making your life miserable, nothing will happen. The days were lawyers themselves could send you ceise and desist letters just to earn some money are long gone.
        lukan 2y ago