Ten UK ISPs, including BT, NTL, Telewest and Tiscali, are to hand over subscriber details after losing a High Court battle with the Federation Against Software Theft (Fast).
The case arose after Fast held a 12-month investigation to identify 150 file sharers operating P2P software. The ISPs now have two weeks to divulge the names, addresses and other personal details of the accused.
"Traditionally most software owners have relied on notice and take-down procedures and have failed to bring civil or criminal proceedings against the infringers," said Julian Heathcote Hobbins, senior legal counsel at Fast.
"The progress we made is only the first wave of an ongoing strategy. We expect to be bringing these actions anytime and anywhere we see software being misused."
Fast launched Operation Tracker a year ago to identify P2P users. The organisation has said it will pursue more file sharers now that it has won the court action.
"Online piracy is increasingly an issue for the software industry too, and the effective enforcement of the laws which protect intellectual property is key," said Siobhan Carroll, regional manager for northern Europe at the Business Software Alliance.
"Piracy deprives authors and creators of revenues, stifles innovation and affects the wider economy in terms of lost employment, productivity and tax revenue."
