The proposed law is set to go into effect in April 2009.
The government wants to give copyright holders, such as film and music companies, the ability to request information from internet service providers about individual users tied to IP addresses through which copyrighted material has been downloaded.
Although the proposed law is based on an EU directive, the Council on Legislation says in its consultation statement that Sweden’s draft regulation goes further than required by the directive.
According to Sweden’s proposal, copyright holders would be allowed to get a court order requesting the release of information about certain IP addresses if there is probable cause that someone has broken copyright laws.
This information could then be used to launch legal proceedings in which copyright holders could seek damages or simply point out that person has broken the law.
The EU directive, however, only says that people should have the right to access information in connection with a trial.
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