Two years ago a couple of leading Dutch ISPs were ordered to block The Pirate Bay. To their huge credit, they did not take this lying down: they have been fighting it in the courts since, and have just won a major victory against the Dutch "anti-piracy" group BREIN. TorrentFreak has the details:

In its ruling the Court states that the Pirate Bay blockade is disproportionate and ineffective, citing TNO research and the Baywatch report of the University of Amsterdam. As a result, the blockade was found to hinder the Internet providers' entrepreneurial freedoms.

The court based its decision on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which both includes "freedom to conduct a business" and "right to property." In this case the entrepreneurial freedom outweighs property rights, because the blockades are disproportionate and ineffective.

Based on the above, the appeal court overturned the blocking order and ordered the Hollywood-funded anti-piracy group to pay 326,000 euros ($445,000) in legal fees.

That's a great result for a number of reasons. First, because it overturns the block on The Pirate Bay for the two Dutch ISPs concerned (and probably for other ISPs too). Secondly, because it forces BREIN to pay the significant costs for its long-running attempt to tell ISPs how they should run their businesses. And thirdly, and perhaps mostly importantly, because it creates a precedent that underlines not only the pointlessness of trying to enforce an ineffectual blockade, but also the fact that entrepreneurial freedom outweighs copyright in this situation. Although that ruling only applies in the Netherlands, other courts in Europe may well take it into consideration when they are called upon to make similar rulings.

However, there is the possibility that BREIN will appeal, as Computerworld UK reports:

The case can be appealed to the Supreme Court, said a spokesman for the Court of Appeals. But while the Supreme Court is able to overrule the verdicts of lower courts, it only examines whether a lower court observed proper application of the law in reaching its decision. At this stage of the legal process, the facts of the case as established by the lower court are no longer the subject of the court's scrutiny.

It is too early to say if the case would be appealed, said Brein attorney Joris van Manen, adding that it is certainly worth considering.

So it would seem that BREIN may be down in this case, but it is not yet out.