Dutch court orders ISPs to unblock The Pirate Bay

Internet provider XS4ALL removed its ban on download website The Pirate Bay on Tuesday, after an appellate Judge in The Hague quashed a previous ruling that prevented XS4ALL customers from using the site. “It was a bit more complicated than simply turning a button, but some 30 minutes after the Judge made his ruling our subscribers were able to access The Pirate Bay again,” said a spokesman for XS4ALL. The internet provider had been locked in the court battle since Foundation Brein charged that the download site was in effect infringing copyrights. Piratbyrån/Wikimedia The court disagreed, and called blocking The Pirate Bay irresponsible, even if its users predominantly download copyrighted material. The court said that though users do directly infringe on copyrights somewhat by including artwork of available movies and games, but that still does not justify the blockade. The foundation was ordered to pay the €326,000 in process costs. While XS4ALL immediately removed its blockade on The Pirate Bay, Ziggo indicated it was not sure yet when it would follow suit. “We want to first discuss the ruling internally, and then we will remove the ban as soon as possible,” a Ziggo spokesperson said. A separate court ruling is expected to determine if internet service providers KPN, Tele2 and UPC may also end the blockade. Liberty Global, the parent company of UPC, has also made a takeover bid for Ziggo, one of the providers in today's court ruling. -additional reporting by Zack Newmark