Internet Service Providers in the UK Ordered to reveal identity of File Sharers

22 October 2004

Internet Service Providers in the UK Ordered to reveal identity of File Sharers

The High Court in London has ordered Internet Service Providers (ISP) to reveal the identity of 28
persistent file sharers, who have now been sued by the British Phonographic Industry in its
somewhat fruitless attempt to battle the ongoing problem it faces with music and film downloads.

Legal action was brought against the 28 individuals2 weeks ago as part of a sweep of litigation
being brought across Europe which currently stands at 458 suits. However, this is seen as the
first action brought against individuals within the UK.

Criminal and/or civil action has been taken against the individuals concerned, with an emphasis on
the ‘uploaders’ rather than the ‘downloaders’ i.e. those individuals who store a music library on
their computer and make available to the public through a peer to peer file sharing service. Some
file sharers have been known to have hundreds if not thousands of copyright protected songs on
their computer available for downloading.

However, surprisingly the British Phonographic Society have yet to ascertain the identity of the
individuals concerned and last week made an application to the High Court for an Order of
Disclosure.  Mr Justice Blackburne granted the Order which required the ISPs to reveal the
identity of the uploaders.

It has been reported that Justice Blackburne commented that “On the face of it this appears to be
a powerful case of copyright infringement".

The Order requires ISP’s to provide the BPI with the names and contact details of the 28
individuals concerned within 14 days. A settlement proposal (usually a payment of damages) will be
offered to the individuals failing which legal action will be commenced against the individuals.

General counsel of the BPI Geoff Taylor was reported as saying  “We are pleased that the court has
granted the order that we were seeking… We have said consistently that unauthorised file-sharing
is illegal, and we will not hesitate to take action against those who infringe our members'
rights.”