The Pirate Bay will no longer be blocked by internet service providers (ISPs) in the Netherlands following a ruling by the country's Hague Appeals Court, Digital Spy said.

Local ISPs have been told to restore access to the file-sharing service as barring users from it has proven "ineffective" as a means of tackling copyright infringement.

Anti-piracy group Brein has been landed with a bill of around $550,000 to foot the ISPs' legal costs, but the organisation has confirmed that it will launch an appeal of its own to challenge the court's decision.

The Pirate Bay has been blocked by service providers in numerous countries, including the UK, but users continue to access the service through proxy servers and other methods.

British ISP Virgin Media has revealed that it is watching the Dutch court ruling closely, as it could have implications for the way internet piracy is combated in the UK.

"We will look carefully at what this means for the UK, but we do remain beholden to the UK courts," the firm's head of media relations Gareth Mead told BBC News.

Last month, the Pirate Bay switched to a top-level .AC domain after its .SX domain was seized by the Dutch authorities.