An appeals court in the Netherlands has ruled that the block against The Pirate Bay is ineffective and should be lifted. So, the file sharing website is out of rough waters and smoothly sailing again for its users in the country.

A district court in the Hague had instructed Internet service providers XS4ALL and Ziggo in 2012 to prohibit its customers from visiting Pirate Bay and other IP addresses that are linked to the site. The case then was initiated by an Amsterdam-based antipiracy advocate group known as Brein.

The case was filed against six ISPs and the decision does not cover the other four service providers namely T-Mobile, Tele-2, KPN, and UPC.

"This blockade imposed a violation of the basic right to freedom of commercial activity of the providers with insufficient justification. It is of great significance that the providers themselves were not violating copyrights," the ruling stated, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The latest ruling [in Dutch], however, deemed the block ineffective as users in the Netherlands can still access The Pirate Bay by using proxies or using other IP addresses. The ruling also cited that users can access other websites for the purpose of uploading or downloading content that violate copyright.

The court was also aided by additional information from studies done by the University of Amsterdam, Tilburg University, Dutch research firm TNO.

"Overall between 4-6% of all consumers have decreased their downloading as a result of the blocking, whereas for 94-96% of the population the blocking has had no effect on their behavior," the study done by experts from the University of Amsterdam read.

The court also cited laws pertaining to freedom to conduct business as both ISPs did not commit copyright infringement. Although the court warned that it will be another scenario if companies are involved in piracy.

"The court's judgement is to the detriment of the development of the legal online market, which needs protection against illegal competition. It also goes against decisions by judges in other European countries," said Tim Kuik, director of Brein. The foundation was directed by the court to pay the two ISPs as much as $550,000.

Both companies have expressed relief with the latest ruling.

"It was clear from the start that the measures were ineffective. We think the court made the right decision," a Ziggo spokesperson told AFP.

XS4All also praised the decision favoring not only the businesses but Internet users in general. "We are pleased with the appeals court's decision to uphold the freedom of information and the rights of Dutch citizens," it said.

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