Nah, not a monetary reward, just getting the video taken down. I don’t think the thief would get some sort of monetary reward in Germany, either.

That's the only tangible outcome that would come from suing the person who uploaded it. Getting money for "damages" is the only reason to sue the individual, in this case.

If you want the video taken down, it would be more direct to go after YouTube. In this case, the individual isn't really the "publisher," YouTube is. You probably wouldn't even need to sue YouTube, you could probably go through the "inappropriate content" channel.

He can probably just do a simple DMCA takedown. He made the video, so he owns the copyright. Even better -- just turn on monetization and buy a new laptop in a week.

He doesn't necessarily own a video he made using someone else's equipment, especially if he didn't compensate the owner of the equipment for its use. If you don't produce intellectual property on your own time and with your own equipment, your full ownership of what you produce is not a given.