Australian Govt Blocks Pirates via Telcos

[Len]

Australia's largest telecommunications providers will be blocking access to 57 international websites which allow users to download pirated TV shows and movies.

The Australian Federal Court found that the targeted pirate websites operated with a "blatant disregard for the rights of copyright owners" and has ordered Telstra, Optus, Vocus and TPG to take "reasonable steps", within 15 days, to stop their customers accessing these sites.

The targeted sites include piratebay.to, watchfree.to, torrentproject.se, Yes Movies, Vumoo and Los Movies.

Industry body Creative Content Australia, which has been supporting the action on behalf of the Australian content industry welcomed the win. Creative Content Australia executive director, Lori Flekser, said, "piracy is not a victimless crime: the victims are the creative industries who lose jobs, who lose revenue and who lose potential jobs in the films that simply aren't made because the risks of recouping the revenue are too high."

Justice John Nicholas said similar blocking orders had already been made in other countries.

Foxtel chief executive Peter Tonagh said the judgment was "another critical step in combating online piracy, which continues to undermine Australia's creative industry".

"The Government's passage of the site blocking legislation, and the court's continued willingness to impose site blocking orders, illustrates the gravity of the threat and the concern we should all have about protecting the hard work of the actors, writers, directors and production teams involved in creating the programming we all love."