In the course of the Rammstein scandal, in which Till Lindemann is accused of abusive behavior, Shelby Lynn put it on record that she had received mail: she should sign a cease-and-desist letter.
Lynn got the ball rolling in the Rammstein case: through her descriptions of alleged incidents in Vilnius (which Rammstein rejects), the whole republic is now talking about whether superstar singer Lindemann could have become violent towards women. Investigative research by various media also revealed that there is a system at Rammstein: an alleged sex recruitment machine. Lynn says publicly of the attorney’s letter (the existence of which no law firm has confirmed): “I fear nothing. It breaks my heart for every woman who has been victimized and experienced worse. Take me to court. I’m not afraid. These people have a lot to lose and hide. I don’t.” In the meantime, the police in Vilnius have announced that they will not initiate any police investigations based on Lynn’s statement alone.
What a quote:
“Break me up. I do not care. Take me to court. I’m not afraid. You have a lot to lose and a lot to hide. I have nothing to hide”According to Shelby Lynn, she received a cease and desist letter #Rammstein
— Jonas Leppin (@JoLepp) June 10, 2023
What is a cease and desist letter?
In civil law, this is a declaration in which a legal subject undertakes to refrain from infringing acts in the future. This is possible, for example, in the case of copyright infringement or insult. Below is a simplified definition:
The cease-and-desist declaration signed by the so-called “interferer” is an acknowledgment of guilt in accordance with the Federal Code. In the event of a breach of this, the disruptor can undertake to pay compensation in the case of a declaration of discontinuance, which constitutes a contractual penalty in accordance with Section 339 of the German Civil Code. A contractual penalty is waived in the case of a simple cease-and-desist declaration. A warning is not mandatory, so that the right holder can immediately file an injunction with the court in the event of further violations. Anyone who could assert a claim for injunctive relief is authorized to issue a warning. However, he bears the legal risk that the troublemaker immediately recognizes his obligation to cease and desist after filing an action, so that the right holder has to bear the costs of the proceedings.
There are basically three types of cease and desist declarations: intellectual property law, media civil law and competition law. In the case of Shelby Lynn, if the cease-and-desist declaration exists, it is likely to be a civil media cease-and-desist declaration. The cease-and-desist declaration refers to situations in which people, especially celebrities (public figures) in the mass media, in particular through insult (§ 823 Para. 2 BGB in conjunction with § 185 StGB) are injured in their honor defamation (§ 186 StGB) or defamation (§ 187 StGB) have to defend themselves against untrue allegations, a violation of the general right of personality i. S.v. Art. 1 para. 1 i. V. m. Art. 2 para. V. m. § 22 KUG are violated in their right to informational self-determination.
If the reporting has already taken place, subsequent monetary compensation makes no sense, because the reputation of the person concerned has already been irrevocably damaged.