Gerechtshof Amsterdam [Court of Appeals Amsterdam], Civil law, Shareconnector v. Brein, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2010:BL7920

The website operator in question had created a website that listed, verified and categorized hash codes that could be used to download copyright protected works on the e-Donkey peer-to-peer file sharing network. These hash codes identified the content of a digital file and could be used to download files available on the peer-to-peer network through peer-to-peer file sharing software. The Court of Appeals considered that the operator did not have digital files at its disposal, nor did the operator play a role in the transmission of files. The Court held that the operator was not liable for copyright infringement as the operator did not communicate copyright-protected works to the public. However, the operator was held liable under tort law for systematically and structurally facilitating the use and presumed uploading of copyrighted materials.