This means that terms of the Digital Economy Act (DEA), requiring ISPs to send warnings letters and threats of disconnection to their customers suspected of illegally sharing copyrighted material, will not come into effect for at least another two years.

Although a found largely in favour of the government, the court upheld a claim brought by BT and TalkTalk over the costs that ISPs would incur. Now the Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS) says a new impact assessment of the legislation will have to be carried out, resulting in a delay before the measures can be implemented.

Consequently the first letters of warning will not hit offenders' doormats until 2014 at the earliest.

This provoked an angry reaction from BPI, the body that represents the British recorded music industry, who called on the government to "take decisive action".

A spokesperson told Techworld: "It has been two years now since the Digital Economy Act was passed and we have still not had the code [of implementation] published. Whether we continue to grow and become an exporting industry that creates jobs depends on the decisions the Government takes."