Am I correct in thinking that in the UK, the internet subscriber is responsible for what is downloaded/uploaded on their connection, regardless of whether they actually did it?
Contractually there may be a duty to ensure your connection is not utilised to nefarious ends. This contractual duty would not of course extend to parties outside the contract (unless the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act is not excluded).
In terms of non-contractual terms, perhaps a film company for example could argue the subscriber was under a duty of care but again this is unlikely to stick.
Generally speaking, I think it would depend on a case by case basis and it would always be open to the subscriber to argue that although the IP address was linked to them, they were not responsible for the infringing activities. This would be determined on the evidence in each case therefore.
