14 DAY TRIAL // IFPI, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, makes new efforts in its fight against illegal file-sharing services announcing that it plans to sue a Swedish ISP which refused to support its move. Unfortunately, the name of the ISP was not disclosed. TorrentFreak reports that one of the local Internet Service Providers which may be targeted by such an attempt may be Bahnhof.
More specifically, IFPI wants to send to the judge the ISPs which refuse to support its anti-piracy battle, meaning that providers who refuse to filter their traffic and to websites suspected of copyright infringement may be sent to the judge.
"We believe that ISPs have a special part to play in this and must help us. The discussions we've tried to have with the ISPs haven't led anywhere," IFPI's Managing Director in Sweden, Lars Gustafsson, stated according to TorrentFreak. "The ISPs don't believe they have any responsibility to help when it comes to hindering filesharing."
This is not the first time when copyright organizations put the pressure on ISPs and struggle to force them to cut off the access of illegal file sharing services. However, it's hard to believe that an Internet Service Provider would agree to block users from accessing file-sharing services, even if they're illegal, because clients are pretty addicted to this kind of solutions.
Some time ago, a law firm sent a letter to a Norwegian ISP asking to block the Internet access of the users who share files over the web, in a move meant to reduce the copyright infringement in the country, The ISP clearly stated that such an action is impossible, especially due to the fact that ISPs are not responsible for consumers' actions while they are connected to the web.
"When it comes to your comment on responsibility and helping out to commit the crime if the ISP does not prevent the alleged illegal activity, we do not agree. An ISP has no responsibility for what the customer does on the net as you suggest in your letter," IKT Norway explained in a letter published by TorrentFreak.