Belgium Judge Orders ISP to Remove P2P Copyright Infringements

BRUSSELS — ISP Scarlet, Belgium's third-largest Internet service provider, has been given six months to remove copyright-infringing material distributed on a P2P basis after the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers (SABAM) won a judgment in the Belgian Court of First Instance.

This has been hailed as a step forward in the fight against content piracy on the Internet.

The ruling was based on the interpretation of the European Union’s Information Society Directive, often called the E.U. Copyright Directive, by the Belgian court.

In 2004, SABAM obtained an intermediary injunction against the company under its prior name Tiscali and the court appointed an expert who recommended 11 techniques the ISP could use to identify P2P material. This week a judge agreed that these were acceptable, and gave Scarlet six months to comply.

"The solutions identified by the expert are 'technical instruments' that limit themselves to blocking or filtering certain information transmitted on the network of Tiscali (Scarlet)," SABAM said in a press release. "They do not constitute a general obligation to monitor the network. Moreover, the court considers that filtering and blocking software are not dealing as such with any personal data and that a blocking measure has a purely technical and automatic character, as the ISP is not playing any active role in the blocking or filtering."

The London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industry approved the Belgian court's decision.

"This is an extremely significant ruling which bears out exactly what we have been saying for the last two years — that the Internet’s gatekeepers, the ISPs, have a responsibility to help control copyright-infringing traffic on their networks," IFPI chief executive John Kennedy said.

Not all observers are pleased.

Struan Robertson, a technology lawyer and editor of the legal website Out-law.com, has said the copyright directive is not supposed to supersede the terms of an earlier E.U. directive, the E-Commerce Directive, which includes a "mere conduit" defense that shields ISPs from responsibility for what happens on their networks.

"These laws were designed to complement each other, but there was always a risk of a collision like this," Robertson said. "The copyright directive says copyright owners should be able to get a court order against intermediaries whose services are used for piracy, but it also says its provisions should not prejudice the E-Commerce Directive.

"I haven't seen the judgment, but if this court really has ordered an ISP to monitor all traffic for any transfer of pirated music, that will surely send shockwaves through the industry."

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Strike 3 Holdings Sues Meta for Pirating Vixen Media Group Content to Train AI

Vixen Media Group owner Strike 3 Holdings filed suit in federal court this week, accusing Facebook parent company Meta of copyright infringement and alleging that Meta has extensively pirated VMG content to train its artificial intelligence models.

Pineapple Support, Streamate to Host 'Navigating Grief and Loss' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Streamate are hosting a free online support group to help performers cope with grief and loss.

Friday is Final AV Compliance Deadline in UK

Friday, July 25 marks U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s deadline for user-to-user services such as tube, cam and fan sites to implement its requisite “highly effective age assurance” measures for preventing minors from viewing adult content.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches for May, June

AEBN has released the top search terms for the months of May and June from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Ofcom Releases Transparency Reporting Guidelines

Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator, has made public its official guidance detailing how online service providers — including adult sites — will be required to publish annual transparency reports on their efforts to protect children from online harms.

New AV Rules Take Effect for Ireland-Based Sites

Ireland’s Online Safety Code came into force Monday, including a provision requiring adult sites headquartered in Ireland to implement age assurance measures beyond self-declaration.

XBIZ Amsterdam Calls on New Startups for 'Spotlight' Program

XBIZ is pleased to announce that its new “Startup Spotlight” programming will make its European premiere at XBIZ Amsterdam 2025, set to take place Sept. 2-5 at the Jakarta Hotel Amsterdam.

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

Show More