May 27, 2010

By By Charles Ferro, Copenhagen

The Supreme Court of Denmark has ruled that telco Telenor has responsibility to block its customers' access to the Pirate Bay.

Two lower courts made the same decision after organizations representing intellectual rights holders brought suits against Telenor (then Tele2) in January 2008.

The court said there were "very significant breaches against rights holders" via BitTorrent tracker the Pirate Bay, when the decision was handed down.

"The decision is perfectly clear," says attorney Johan Schl?tter, who represented the rights holders, and is IFPI's attorney. "It confirms that Internet service providers are part of the solution to the problem of the [illegal downloading] problem.

"It is an imperative for the continued growth and success of legal downloading services, that the spread of illegal services be curbed."

IFPI says it expects other ISPs to follow the court decision and block access to the Pirate Bay.

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