EU countries do not have to reveal the names of internet file sharers in civil cases, the European Court of Justice said today, in their ruling between Spanish music rights holders association Promusicae and Spain’s largest telecoms operator Telefonica (NYSE: TEF). The move comes at a time when ISPs have been under attack from government ministers, software groups and even U2’s manager to take more responsibility of any subscribers illegally downloading or sharing content. The ruling, according to Reuters, is a blow to copyright holders trying to fight digital piracy, especially as they will now be forced to bring criminal proceedings against illegal downloaders, rather than civil ones. But criminal proceedings are usually costlier as they require a higher burden of proof. Promusicae had asked Telefonica to hand over the names of its internet subscribers who were sharing copyrighted material on the internet through KaZaA to bring civil charges against them. Full details of the ECJ’s decision here in PDF form.

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