BT has won a four-year legal battle that will pass the cost of taking down websites that breach trademarks from internet providers to the trademark holders themselves.
The telecoms giant won the battle against the jeweller Cartier, with the Supreme Court ruling that internet service providers will no longer have to bear the cost of blocking websites which breach trademarks, such as those that sell counterfeit versions of luxury goods.
It is potentially a landmark decision as internet companies come under increasing pressure to police online crime. Legal experts said the principle could then apply to copyrighted material such as illegal music downloads.
BT had appealed against a previous ruling,...