The Federal Court of Canada has ordered an internet service provider (ISP) to release the names and addresses of 2,000 subscribers alleged to have illegally downloaded a copyrighted movie using peer-to-peer networks and the BitTorrent protocol.

Smart & Biggar reports that the decision represents a victory for rights holders seeking to address the large-scale downloading of copyrighted material from the Internet.

The decision is also balanced, in that it encourages the court to impose strict safeguards to prevent the coercive settlement tactics that have sometimes followed such orders in jurisdictions outside of Canada.