As of: March 23, 2024, 5:09 a.m
By: Felix Herz
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He built with Lego, set up model railway lines - and shared videos of them with his YouTube community.
Now the 33-year-old has to pay a heavy fine.
Munich – A 33-year-old father turns to the public with a desperate cry for help.
He started a fundraising campaign on “GoFundMe.de” to pay off a fine that was imposed on him.
Lego and model trains on YouTube – suddenly the lawyer mail arrives
The father of the family reports in detail about the background to his misfortune.
He had a YouTube channel where he presented Lego sets in videos and built them.
He met many like-minded people and earned a few hundred euros through YouTube's partner program: “I spent around €1,000-2,000 and received €300 from YT in 2023.
For me it’s still a hobby and I enjoyed showing my videos to people,” said the 33-year-old.
The bottom line is that he didn't earn anything from the videos, but the Lego sets were a little cheaper.
But partly because he had to listen to a lot of ridicule for his hobby, he didn't publish any more videos for around six months.
Until he gave his eight-year-old son a model train for his birthday at his request.
He was immediately hooked: “I showed this starter pack to my community.
“That’s how I discovered the fascination of model railways with my son,” says the young father.
A 33-year-old father has to pay 30,000 euros because of a momentous YouTube video.
But he can't do that - so he emotionally asks for help.
(Symbolic image) © Pond5 Images / IMAGO
“Out of sheer enthusiasm, I showed my community beautiful facilities and put together realistic rides.
Train rides are equipped with a cabin so that it looks like you are a train driver,” he reports.
But this is where the misfortune began.
Because he sometimes took scenes from other videos for the recordings because he didn't have any equipment.
“Violated copyright,” he explains.
And within a very short time the lawyer's mail arrived.
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The other side's client is demanding a fine of 30,000 euros - which the father of the family cannot pay
The lawyer's letter asked the 33-year-old to delete the videos, sign a cease-and-desist agreement and pay compensation.
He complied with the first two points immediately - but there was a problem with compensation.
Because this one has it all.
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After an initial demand of 328,000 euros, which has since been adjusted, the opposing client is now demanding 30,000 euros, according to the “GoFundMe” organizer.
“The other side is now demanding €30,000 plus legal fees, of which 14,477 are to be paid by mid-March, the rest in 20 installments of €1,000 per month,” it says.
Far too much for the young man and his family.
That's a sum that I'll never be able to raise because I already have to pay off various things.
I currently have around €200 a month left over after all payments, I don't know how I'm going to pay it.
33-year-old father on “GoFundMe”
The problem: The 33-year-old's legal protection insurance doesn't pay - because he runs YouTube commercially.
He was told that you only have to register a business with a profit of 410 euros or more, and that in the end he didn't earn a euro.
According to the other side's lawyer, this doesn't matter because he generated income.
That's why the man from Bavaria is now urgently asking for help: “I'm desperate, my nerves are exhausted, I'm so afraid for our family.
I quit YouTube.
That's why I'm asking for help, for my family." Part of the appeal for donations is also a photo of the lawyer's mail in which the current demand for money is advertised - however, the authenticity of the campaign and the photo cannot be independently verified.
(fhz)
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