An ''Abmahnung'' (German term for a written warning) is a formal request by one person to another person to forthwith stop a certain behaviour.
If this formal request is made by an
attorney, then it is similar to a
cease-and-desist
A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the other ...
letter (but not a cease-and-desist order, which in turn is similar to a ' in
German law
The law of Germany (), that being the modern German legal system (), is a system of civil law which is founded on the principles laid out by the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, though many of the most important laws, for example ...
). Anyone who is harmed by the offending action and thus has an ' can send an ''Abmahnung''.
Trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
violations,
copyright infringement
Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...
, and not complying with disclosure and information requirements harm the public, so the ' permits competitors,
interest groups
An interest group or an advocacy group is a body which uses various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and/or policy.
Interest group may also refer to:
* Learned society
* Special interest group, a group of individuals sharing ...
who operate on the same market as the offender,
consumer protection
Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...
organisations and
Chambers of Commerce to file an ''Abmahnung''.
In most cases, the law allows the party sending the letter to demand payment of legal costs associated with the sending of the letter. In theory, this allows anybody that observes a violation of a law that may be covered by an ' to hire an attorney, have a letter sent, and be reimbursed for the attorney's fees. Reimbursement of attorney's fees is excluded in cases of violations against information requirements, if the violation is committed on the internet and the filer is a competitor. Since the enormous proliferation of web sites, there have been waves of frivolous ''Abmahnungen'', the so-called ''n'', as lawyers and copyright holders search for even minor and usually unintended violations of e.g. copyright law on the internet, with some law firms sending thousands of letters per year demanding payment.
References
Law of Germany
{{Germany-law-stub
de:Abmahnung