Movie, TV and music copyright holders are back in court seeking an order under the Government’s Web site-locking laws that will allow them to crack down harder on illegal file-sharing sites. At a hearing in Sydney on Friday, Village Roadshow and Foxtel asked the court to give them the power to apply to the Federal Court for an order to have a block on known piracy-related Web sites automatically extended to alternative sites set up by the pirates.
Richard Lancaster SC, representing Foxtel, asked the court to approve a site-blocking order system which would allow rights holders to extend blocks if they discover a new pathway to the file-sharing Web site without having to go back to court.
He said Internet service providers like Telstra, Optus and TPG wanted a “more elaborate process” which would result in additional costs, delays and inefficiency in complying with the injunction.
The court has yet to rule on his application.
