Pirate Bay ban lifted by Dutch court as blocking file-sharing sites ruled 'ineffective' The Hague Appeals Courts has since told local internet service providers (ISPs) in the Netherlands to reinstante access to website. The court heard that web users were getting around the ban by concealing their location with special software, or by simply using alternative torrent websites. Evidence also showed that while Dutch traffic to The Pirate Bay had decreased, the amount of torrenting in general had not. "This blockade imposed a violation of the basic freedom of commercial activity of the providers with insufficient justification," the court's ruling said. It added: "It is of great significance that the providers themselves were not violating copyrights." The reversal follows a 2011 order imposed on the ISPs to stop links to the file-sharing website working. The decision is a victory for ISPs Ziggo and XS4All, who argued that the ban stopped subscribers accessing free information. While The Pirate Bay does not publish copyright-infringing content, it supplies links that do lead to protected content including films, TV shows, and music. The anti-piracy group Brein, who lodged the appeal, must now pay €400,000 (£330,000) of the ISPs" legal fees. But the group said it may still put forward a further appeal with the country's Supreme Court. Brein's director, Tim Kuik, said the ruling undermined efforts to encourage the public to pay for legal downloads. "The purpose of blocking The Pirate Bay is obviously to reduce copyright infringement via The Pirate Bay," added Mr Kuik. It is paradoxical that although the court finds that this goal is indeed achieved, it rejects the blockade because users are going to other sites. When Brein failed to force The Pirate Bay remove the links, it persuaded a Netherlands court to stop users from accessing the website. One UK-based ISP said it was assessing the ruling to see if there were any implications for a similar block imposed by the British High Court. "We will look carefully at what this means for the UK, but we do remain beholden to the UK courts," said Gareth Mead, head of media relations at Virgin Media told the BBC. Game of Thrones season finale was the most pirated TV episode of 2013 The Pirate Bay launches its own 'Pirate Browser' to dodge filters Pirate Bay sets sail for Ascension Island after SX domain name seized by authorities Sweden reduces Pirate Bay head's jail term from two years to one