The Court of Justice of the European Communities gave its ruling on Tuesday in Case C‑275/06, Productores de Música de España (Promusicae) v Telefónica de España SAU. Although this was a reference arising out of a copyright case, the court's answer to the question of the Spanish court is equally relevant to any trade mark infringement dispute in which the claimant seeks to get information from an internet service provider concerning the identity of a subscriber who is allegedly downloading or dealing in infringing materials. In short, the court says that rhe various European IP and telecoms directives do not require EU Member States to lay down an obligation to communicate personal data in order to ensure effective protection of an IP right in the context of civil proceedings, but they do require those countries to take care that, when transposing directives, they rely on an interpretation of them which allows a fair balance to be struck between the various fundamental rights protected by the Community legal order. National law must be interpreted in a way which is consistent with those directives and the courts should not rely on an interpretation of them that conflicts with those fundamental rights or with the other general principles of Community law, such as the principle of proportionality.