The regional appeals court in Karlsruhe found a German spammer, whose name was not disclosed, guilty of sending unsolicited email using Microsoft’s Hotmail service without the company’s permission.
The spammer had used Hotmail to promote his pornographic website for several months, according to the court, which said the ruling makes the misuse of a trademark name in connection with spam a criminal offense subject to prosecution.
The unidentified spammer will be barred from distributing spam via Hotmail or face a fine in excess of $300,000. The ruling also requires the spammer to provide Microsoft with detailed information about his spamming efforts.
According to a Microsoft spokesman, the court ruling marks a step forward for the company’s campaign against spam in Germany, which lacks an anti-spam statute.
Prior to the ruling, German spammers could not be subjected to high fines or criminal prosecution.
In September, an English porn site operator who used spam sent from his Hotmail address to direct traffic to his website was ordered to pay Microsoft $84,000 after a civil court ruled that the man violated the terms and conditions of his account.