UK High Court blocks ebook pirate sites; report on Australian site-blocking legislation due next week

In the UK, the High Court has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block seven websites that hold a combined 10 million ebook titles in breach of copyright laws, reports the UK Publishers Association. The application to block access to the sites was brought by the Publisher’s Association, and the ISPs have 10 working days from 26 May to block access to the sites, which are hosted outside the UK. The Publishers Association and its members have issued nearly one million take down requests to these sites in respect of their content. The Association also claims the sites make ‘substantial sums of money, primarily through referral fees and advertising’. In Australia, the Australian Publishers Association (APA) and the Copyright Agency have welcomed the UK High Court’s decision, ahead of the presentation of a Senate Committee final report on site-blocking legislation on 9 June. Fairfax is reporting that the Labor party is expected to support the federal government’s Copyright Amendment (Online Infringement) Bill 2015, which ‘would allow Australian publishers to apply through the courts to block “online locations” which facilitate piracy of content such as films, TV series, e-books and news articles’.