The High Court has ordered six internet service providers to block or disable subscribers’ access to The Pirate Bay under a 2012 copyright law amendment. The injunction follows an earlier ruling that Irish law then lacked a basis for such an order.
Mr Justice Brian J. McGovern delivered the judgment on 12 June 2013 in a case brought by EMI Records (Ireland) Limited, Sony Music and Entertainment (Ireland) Limited, Universal Music Ireland Limited and Warner Music Ireland Limited. The defendants were UPC Communications Ireland Limited, Vodafone Ireland Limited, Imagine Telecommunications Limited, Digiweb Limited, Hutchinson 3G Ireland Limited and, by order of the court, Telefonica Ireland Limited.
The plaintiffs sought to block The Pirate Bay and related domain names, IP addresses and URLs, including further related addresses they might reasonably notify to the providers. The court said a 2012 statutory amendment had filled a gap identified in a 2010 judgment. Having considered affidavit evidence and the agreed draft order and protocol, the judge found the plaintiffs entitled to an injunction on those terms.
The providers had taken a neutral position on the application and submitted to an order the court considered appropriate. Their main concern was the risk of over-blocking legitimate activity. The parties’ final draft order addressed that concern. The protocol also allowed the blocking process to cover changes in The Pirate Bay’s internet location without requiring a fresh court application for each change; disputes over notified addresses could be brought back to court.
The judge directed each provider to bear its own costs of implementing the blocking measures. On the costs of the court application, he ordered the plaintiffs to pay Vodafone’s costs up to and including 4 February 2013. Vodafone was to bear its own costs after that date. The other defendants were each ordered to bear their own costs.
The judgment did not set out a financial award for the plaintiffs. It recorded their claim that copyright infringement was causing substantial ongoing losses, citing an estimate of about €20 million a year in an earlier case. The court’s order in this proceeding was for website blocking and costs.