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A pub has reportedly been fined £8,000 after a customer downloaded copyrighted material on its Wi-Fi connection.

The managing director of Wi-Fi hotspot provider, The Cloud, said that the fine had been levied in a civil case this summer, following a successful prosecution by the rights holder. The Cloud declined to name the pub involved, but the provider has contracts with pub chains including Fullers, Greene King and Punch Taverns.

It's believed to be the first time that a Wi-Fi hotspot provider has been held legally responsible for the activities of its customers, and could create a highly undesirable precedent for venues such as pubs, cafes and restaurants that offer free or paid-for Wi-Fi connections to their customers.

Legal experts are baffled by the ruling. Internet law professor Lilian Edwards, of Sheffield Law School, told ZDNet that companies that operate a public Wi-Fi hotspot should "not be responsible in theory" for users' illegal downloads under "existing substantive copyright law".

Even the tougher anti-piracy measures included in the forthcoming Digital Economy Bill would not hold hotspot providers responsible for the actions of their customers, Edwards added.

The news comes as lawyers prepare to send out more than 15,000 new demands for compensation to people accused of downloading copyrighted material, according to the BBC. Previous campaigns have seen firms demand up to £600 for the downloading of a single game.