This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Business News Digital Legal Top Stories
Dutch anti-piracy group to appeal ruling that pulled down the web-blocks
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 24 February 2014
Dutch anti-piracy group BREIN intends to take its web-blocking efforts to the Supreme Court in the Netherlands, after the country’s High Court overturned blockades instigated against The Pirate Bay.
As previously reported, in 2012, on its second attempt, BREIN secured a web-block injunction against the infamous file-sharing website, ie a court order which told Dutch internet service providers Ziggo and XS4All that they must block their users from accessing the Bay. But, whereas in the UK the net firms have generally accepted and complied with such injunctions, even if a little reluctantly, the Dutch ISPs appealed the web-block ruling, and last month succeeded in the High Court.
For the music and film industries in several countries, web-blocking is becoming the most important weapon in the battle against online piracy. Such blockades are not without controversy, of course, and opponents always point out that it’s actually quite easy to circumvent the web-blocks. Though the rights owners increasingly hope that if they can also force the search engines to stop listing blocked sites – and any proxies set up to help get round the blockades – then actually such a system will deter more casual web-users from accessing unlicensed content sources.
But the Dutch High Court ruled last month that the blocks were “ineffectual” and “constitute an infringement of [people’s] freedom to act at their discretion”. BREIN Director Tim Kuik confirmed to the website Tweakers that the organisation would continue to fight on the issue, though admitted that the next round of appeal could take eighteen months to go through the motions. Kuik said: “Depending on the type of appeal it can take a year to eighteen months before a decision. Moreover, there are still questions for the European Court Of Justice so it might take even longer”.
The Pirate Bay blocks in the Netherlands will come down in the meantime.
