U.K. Ruling Questions Use of IP Addresses To Support Copyright Infringement Lawsuits

LONDON—An Internet Protocol (IP) address may not provide sufficient evidence for copyright holders to prove that a suspect is guilty of illegal file sharing, the U.K.’s Patents County Court ruled Feb. 8.

“Does the process of identifying an IP address in this way establish that any infringement of copyright has taken place by anyone related to that IP address at all?” Judge Anthony Birss asked in his judgment.

“Even if it is proof of infringement by somebody, merely identifying that an IP address has been involved with infringement [does not make it] clear to me that the person identified must ...