Five of the biggest torrent sites will no longer be able to offer illegal download files in Australia due to a decision in the Federal Court yesterday.
Torrentz, TorrentHound, IsoHunt, The Pirate Bay and streaming service SolarMovie are to have their IP addresses blocked by internet providers under new laws designed to stamp out illegal downloads.
Telstra, TPG, iiNet and other internet providers have up to 15 days to block the addresses. However, it could be a pyrrhic victory because torrent sites have a tendency to pop up under different domain names when they are forced to close shop.
Under the decision, each new address has to be treated as a separate entity because the ruling only relates to those named in the law suit. This means film studios would have to get a court decision for every new site they want taken down.
The court also ruled that each blockage would cost the film companies $50, which is payable to the internet providers.