A Dutch judge ruled on Tuesday that Internet service providers would not have to hand over names or addresses of customers who may be illegally swapping films, music and other copyright-protected files.
Brein, a Dutch organization representing 52 media and entertainment companies, had acquired unique computer identification numbers, so-called IP addresses, of file swappers and requested personal details behind these IP addresses from five large Internet service providers.
The service providers–UPC, Essent, Tiscali, Wanadoo and KPN–refused to hand over the details, arguing that only a criminal trial court could demand them.
The case was subsequently brought to a civil court in the city of Utrecht, where a judge ruled that although he was allowed to order the ISPs to submit the personal data, the plaintiffs had not met the necessary conditions to warrant such an order.
“Brein has sought help from a research company, which has looked at the shared folders on computers of the file swappers. In that process it may have accessed private files,” the judge said in the court ruling.
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