Thank you for the music!
Ireland's High Court has decided internet users who illegally download copyrighted tunes and films will not be cut off from using the web.
An Irish ISP called UPC started the legal action against copyright owners including Sony and EMI, which will likely be irked that they cannot now have offenders cut off to prevent piracy, the BBC reported.
Although the ruling currently only affects Ireland, it is thought it will set a legal precedent elsewhere too.
Peter Charleton, Mr Justice, reportedly said while he believes illegal file sharing is ‘destructive of an important native industry,' he added there are no Irish laws about cutting pirates off from the net and doing so would be in breach of EU laws.
Meanwhile, UPC reportedly said it "does not condone piracy and has always taken a strong stance against illegal activity on its network. Our whole premise and defence focused on the mere conduit principal which provides that an internet service provider cannot be held liable for content transmitted across its network."
It is believed the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) is mulling what to do next. A spokeswoman for the association told the BBC: "The judge was very clear he wanted to rule in his favour but couldn't because the legislation wasn't in place."
She said the IRMA is considering a couple of options including appealing to the Supreme Court or lobbying the government to challenge the law.
What is also uncertain is how the ruling will affect Irish internet company Eircom's policy of ‘three strikes and you're out' as it planned on sending letters out to people who had been busy downloading copyrighted material, threatening to cut them off.
Despite the European law, France is said to be pursuing a ‘three strikes' policy, while the UK's Digital Economy Act has not ruled out a similar idea although there are no plans to cut people off from the net as yet.
An analyst at Forrester called Mark Mulligan, told the BBC he believes it is unlikely the UK will follow such an aggressive policy.
"Although the legislation is framed, there is still so much of it that is vague. The implementation will be down to ISPs, content providers and Ofcom and is likely to be watered down," he reportedly said.
