28 Jul 2011

BT forced to block alleged piracy site

Hollywood says it has dealt a big blow to online piracy after a court forced BT to block access to a website accused of copyright infringement. But IT experts say the ruling is “insignificant”.

Film studio giants, including Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and Disney, brought the proceedings over the Newzbin2 website, which has around 700,000 members.

The website provides links to pirated versions of copyright works including films, TV programmes, commercial software and other content. The studios hope the ruling will act as a precedent for other sites which allegedly flout copyright laws to be blocked by BT and other internet providers.

Film-makers told the court they wanted BT to block Newzbin2 with the same system that stops access to sites hosting child sex abuse images.

The action is believed to be the first in Britain where an attempt is being made to force an internet provider to block a site under the 1988 Copyright, Design and Patents Act (CDPA).

Websites and the courts

Richard Spearman QC, arguing for an injunction on behalf of the applicants at the recent hearing, told the court: “If the order is not made, websites such as Newzbin will simply be able to move offshore, anonymise the individuals behind the website and cock a snook at the courts and at rights holders who put their trust in the courts.”

BT, Britain’s biggest internet provider, had told the court that the injunction application should be dismissed, arguing that if the court ordered it to block access to the Newzbin2 website “there would be nothing to stop countless other claimants coming forward demanding that BT block other websites alleged to contain unlawful material”.

Newzbin

But following the ruling it issued a statement: “This is a helpful judgment, which provides clarity on this complex issue. It clearly shows that rights holders need to prove their claims and convince a judge to make a court order.”

And Matt Brian, mobile editor of The Next Web, told Channel 4 News: “It’s a breakthrough in the UK, it’s one of the first copyright cases of its kind.

“With a successful ruling dictating that BT must block a portal, it sets a precedent for copyright action across a number of other file-sharing websites: it is a popular file-sharing platform but probably not the most popular, with BitTorrent taking that crown.”

And the ruling could pave the way for media businesses to claim back millions of pounds of lost revenue to piracy. A study last year estimated the overall loss from film piracy at £477 million and the overall loss from television piracy at £58m.

Read more: Illegal music downloads top a billion

Symbolic or significant?

But some internet experts have played down the significance of the ruling for the fight against piracy, saying it is merely “symbolic”.

Anthony Enticknap, the editor of IT magazine Micro Mart, told Channel 4 News that Newzbin2’s operators could easily move the site elsewhere and that, in any case, there are thousands of websites providing the same services.

“What Newzbin does is offer a list of links and files that don’t make it necessary for it to operate only on its existing domain name (which was shut down last month). If they wish to continue, all they have to do is post the files elsewhere and, for example, inform its users on Twitter where to find them.

“I don’t see an end to internet piracy anytime soon. Media markets, like the film and music industries need to think about offering customers more conventional, streamlined mediums – subscription service models for example – to download their content, and make it, dare I say, cheaper.”

Newzbin operators have since threatened to break BT’s filtering system if and when it blocks the site, according to reports.

One its administrators is reported to have issued a warning that to do so may involve breaking BT’s Cleanfeed filter, which is used to block access to sites featuring child pornography.

BT has responded to the threat by saying the company “would be appalled” if any group were to try to sabotage this technology as it helps to protect the innocent from highly offensive and illegal content.