Date:29/07/11

UK High Court orders BT to block access to a pirate website

The U.K. High Court Thursday ordered telecommunications firm BT Group PLC to block access to a pirate website following legal action by an association representing six major movie studios. The ruling in favor of the Motion Picture Association paves the way for greater cooperation between content makers and internet service providers in tackling piracy, even though ISPs have so far been loathe to take on responsibility for the content provided through their networks.
Justice Arnold ruled that the MPA has won an order requiring BT to block access to the pirate website Newzbin2, which makes unlawful copies of films and television programs available, alongside other content. Chris Marcich, president and managing director in Europe, the Middle East and Africa for the MPA, said the ruling is "a victory for millions of people working in the UK creative industries and demonstrates that the law of the land must apply online."
In a separate statement, BT said the judgement was "helpful" and "provides clarity" on a complex issue."It clearly shows that rights holders need to prove their claims and convince a judge to make a court order. BT has consistently said that rights holders need to take this route," BT said.
The parties will return to court either in September or October to work out details, such as how the blocking will work and costs, a BT spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires. Newzbin2, which has around 700,000 members, booked revenue of more than GBP1 million and profit in excess of GBP360,000 last year. The website has a searchable database of movies, music and TV shows available to download that runs to thousands of pages.
Under a previous action brought by the MPA, the High Court ordered a company called Newzbin to remove copyrighted material from its site in March last year, but the site went into administration, avoiding the payment of costs and damages. Its anonymous owners re-opened the site last June as Newzbin2 and have made it clear that they will continue to move jurisdiction to avoid being shut down by the courts, the MPA said.
Newzbin2 doesn't provide any contact details on its website and operates a web-based automated ticket system for member support. Blocking orders have already been successful using similar legislation in other European countries, most notably in Italy, according to the MPA.The MPA's members are Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, part of Walt Disney Co.; Paramount Pictures Corp.; Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., part of Sony Corp.; Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp.; Universal Pictures, a subsidiary of NBC Universal; and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. is owned by News Corp.

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