An appeals court in Sweden has overturned a landmark
anti-piracy ruling that forced an internet service provider to
identify a subscriber to five publishers.
In June, a lower court issued the order under a Swedish
anti-piracy law introduced in April that enables copyright holders
to ask ISPs to identify users suspected of illegal file
sharing.
The law was passed in line with the European Union's
Intellectual Property Rights
Enforcement Directive (IPRED).
The five publishers had sued Sweden's Ephone ISP to obtain the
IP address of a server containing 27 audio books to which they held
the rights.
But the Stockholm court of appeals overturned the ruling because
the publishers had not proved that the server was accessible to the
public at large, reported the
Telegraph.
Sweden's IPRED law, which has been praised by copyright holders
in various industries, is believed to have reduced illegal
downloading in the country by up to 40% in the past six months.