Following a policy similar to that employed in the U.S. by the RIAA, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) decided to sue individuals offering large number of copyrighted songs for uploading. Via these lawsuits, the BPI hoped to starve P2P networks of the music files downloaders find attractive. In a decision on October 15th, Justice Blackburne of the U.K. Court of Chancery ruled that ISPs could be required to reveal the names and addresses of 28 people that are allegedly large sharers who have made several thousand music files available over P2P networks. According to Justice Blackburne, “on the face of it this appears to be a powerful case of copyright infringement”.
The data, which the ISPs have been ordered to provide within 14 days of the decision, will enable BPI to bring a suit for copyright infringement lawsuit against the uploaders. BPI states that its primary intention is to reach an out of court settlement with the uploaders.