Home

Copyright Concerns

Dutch Judge Rules File-Swappers' Privacy Outweighs Copyright Concerns

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on July 12, 2005 - 10:33am.
Amsterdam -- A Dutch judge has ruled that ISPs in Holland cannot be compelled to turn over the identities of suspected Internet file-swappers to entertainment companies, citing privacy rights, Reuters reported. The judge said the Dutch copyright agency Brein "may have accessed private files" in the course of its investigation to identify file-swappers first by their Internet IP addresses. Brein manager Tim Kuik told Reuters the agency will appeal the ruling to a higher court. For now, the identities of Dutch customers of ISPs including UPC, Essent, Tiscali, Wanadoo and KPN who trade files on peer-to-peer networks will remain anonymous to the major record labels and movie studios anxious to file copyright infringement actions against them.
tags: Law | Privacy | File-Swappers | Dutch Judge | Copyright Concerns |