A German court this week ruled that software meant to prevent ads from appearing on websites is perfectly legal.

After a four-month trial, Adblock Plus prevailed over publishers Die Zeit and Handelsblatt, which claimed the Web plug-in is anticompetitive.

"The Hamburg court decision is an important one because it sets a precedent that may help us avoid additional lawsuits and expenses defending what we feel is an obvious consumer right: giving people the ability to control their own screens by letting them block annoying ads and protect their privacy," Ben Williams, Adblock Plus project manager, wrote in a blog post.

The plaintiffs, which operate Zeit.de, Handelsblatt.com, and Wiwo.de, argued that Adblock Plus not only limits their ability to compete in the market, but loses them money because their ads get fewer eyeballs.

The Hamburg judge, however, ruled in favor of Adblock Plus, upholding the right of users to block what Williams called "annoying ads."

This incident has emboldened Adblock Plus to reach out to other publishers, advertisers, and content creators, and encourage them to work with Adblock Plus rather than against it.

"Let's develop new forms of non-intrusive ads that are actually useful and welcomed by users," Williams wrote. "Let's discover ways to make better ads; let's push forward to create a more sustainable Internet ecosystem for everyone."

Neither Die Zeit nor Handelsblatt immediately responded to PCMag's request for comment. The companies did, however, issue a joint statement to BBC News: "We are still convinced that Adblock Plus is an illegal and anti-competitive practice," they said.

Facebook users may be familiar with the ad-blocking service, which, in October, issued a workaround for the social network's Atlas advertising platform. Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Android users can tap into the software to curb Facebook advertisements across the Web.