Eircom have confirmed they are to continue with their 'three strike' policy in relation to illegal downloading by customers, despite a rival company's recent court case victory against the music industry.

Eircom are currently notifying approximately 1,000 people a week about detected copyright infringement but have yet to actually disconnect a customer's broadband.

"This is a measure of last resort and the protocol has been designed to ensure that customers do not find themselves in this position" Eircom said earlier today.

"At the heart of the protocol is the desire to help our customers to avoid illegal copyright infringement by creating awareness about the issues surrounding copyright infringement and illegal file sharing of copyrighted music" they added.

Despite UPC's high court victory over several record companies - which ruled that internet providers were not liable for a customer's illegal downloading - Eircom will continue with the policy it formed following an out of court settlement with the same companies a year previous.

"The company believes that it has a duty to ensure that the rights of artists and the laws of the state, including copyright law, are upheld and to take action when illegal activity is brought to our attention" Eircom said.

Eircom did confirm that they will not monitor customers' activities as part of the initiative nor will they provide any customer personal information to third parties, including record companies.