Courts / Ireland / Report

Major movie studios granted orders requiring internet providers block "illegal" streaming websites

Summary

Six major film and TV studios obtained High Court injunctions ordering internet service providers to block websites that facilitate illegal downloading of their content. Mr Justice Brian Cregan was satisfied that evidence showed clear breaches of the studios' copyright and that the orders would not constitute a breach of lawful internet use or be disproportionate. The injunctions target ISPs including Eircom, Sky Ireland, Vodafone Ireland, Virgin Media Ireland, Three Ireland, Digiweb, Imagine Telecommunications and Magnet Networks, all of whom had not opposed the application and had adopted a neutral stance. The studios, members of the Motion Picture Association, argued that up to 1.3 million users in Ireland may be illegally accessing their films, costing the industry hundreds of millions annually, leading to job losses and revenue loss. The judge granted orders requiring the ISPs to block or disable access to several "streaming" sites such as movie4k.to, primewire.ag and onwatchseries.to.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Major movie studios granted orders requiring internet providers block "illegal" streaming websites. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• 2017-04-03 Publication

Why: Mr Justice Brian Cregan said he was satisfied to make the orders against several internet service providers because "it was clear from the evidence" before the court that breaches of the studio's copyright had "manifestly occurred. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report