Village Roadshow threatens Australians with lawsuits for piracy

[bsaambl]

On Friday, Federal Court Justice John Nicholas ordered Aussie internet service providers (ISPs), including Telstra, Optus, TPG and Vocus, to block customer access to 57 global websites such as The Pirate Bay, Putlocker and Yes Movies.

The Federal Court gave the internet service providers (ISPs) 15 business days to block access to sites such as 123Movies, WatchFree, WatchSeries and MegaShare, as well as any versions of the sites that may appear at different web addresses during the three-year lifetime of the ban.

Australia's Federal Court has ordered a number of known piracy websites to be blocked by Australian ISPs, thanks to a bid by Foxtel, and local and global film studios.

Nearly 130 domains will be blocked by Aussie telcos after the Federal Court's order, in a move aimed at curbing piracy in the country.

"It's a significant number of people who will be affected and a significant number of sites that will be shut down from providing pirated content", Ms. Flekser said.

In a Statement, Peter Tonagh, Foxtel Chief Executive, said the operator welcomed the judgment, describing it as another critical step in combating online piracy, which continues to undermine Australia's creative industry.

Otherwise Village will "pursue them vigorously and sue for damages".

Burke is cognisant of public opinion turning against big entertainment companies in the 2000s when vulnerable people like children and the elderly were targetted with lawsuits from music record labels for illegal downloads. We'll be saying 'You've downloaded our Mad Max: "Fury Road, our Red Dog, and we want $40 for the four movies plus $200 in costs'". In total, 65 major piracy sites have now been ordered to be blocked by the Federal Court.