TORONTO - The recording industry has failed again in its attempt to force internet service providers to reveal the names of file-sharers but it may be able to try again.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the Canadian Recording Industry Association's appeal of a March 2004 ruling that said ISPs like Shaw, Rogers and Bell did not have to reveal the names of 29 users accused of sharing thousands of music files.


The true identities of the 29 file-swappers will remain unknown, for now.

RELATED STORY: ISP prepared to identify alleged file swappers

In his 2004 ruling, Justice Konrad von Finckenstein had said that sharing music files does not breach Canada's copyright laws.

He turned down the industry's request to force ISPs to reveal contact information of the users in question, saying that the group had failed to come up with sufficient evidence matching the online pseudonyms of file-sharers to the specific IP addresses of the various service providers' customers.

The recording industry association is seeking the users' real identities in order to follow its U.S. counterpart in suing file-swappers for sharing copyrighted songs online.


IN DEPTH: Downloading music


RELATED STORY: Online music swapping legal: court

In Thursday's decision, the three judge-panel turned down the appeal request but wrote that the earlier ruling should not have made conclusions about whether downloading or uploading music should be illegal.

"Conclusions ... should not have been made in the very preliminary stage of this action," Justice Edgar Sexton wrote in Thursday's written decision. "They would require a consideration of the evidence as well as the law applicable to such evidence after it has been properly adduced."

The court also suggested that the recording industry group could return with stronger and more current evidence against file-swappers.

"The appeal will be dismissed without prejudice to the plaintiffs' right to commence a further application for disclosure of the identity of the 'users' taking into account these reasons," Sexton wrote.


RELATED STORY: Ottawa moves to quash file swapping

At the end of March, the Canadian government announced several proposed changes to the Copyright Act aimed at ending the unauthorized sharing of music, movies and TV files online.

LINK:http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/05/19/Arts/fileshare050519.html