ST. LOUIS -- The recording industry says it plans to appeal a key ruling against it in its battle to stop the illegal sharing of music files over the Internet.

At issue is whether the record labels can force Internet service providers to turn over the names of those who have been downloading music through the Internet. The industry says being able to track down those names is “a critically important tool” in fighting music piracy.

Last month, an appeals court ruled that the Recording Industry Association of America can't force ISPs to give up the names. That supports a previous appellate court ruling in Washington back in December 2003, also blocking the record industry's efforts to force ISPs to turn over the names of its customers.