After a legal battle that went all the way to the European Court, Austrian ISPs have been defeated in their battle against pirate site blocking. With immediate effect leading providers must block streaming sites including Movie4K, a move which paves the way for action against The Pirate Bay and dozens of other sites.

Kino.to, at the time one of the world’s largest illegal streaming portals, was shut down in 2011 as part of Europe’s largest ever action against piracy sites.

However, just a month before Kino.to was dismantled, Austrian ISP ‘UPC’ was served with a preliminary injunction ordering it to block subscriber access to the site. The order had been obtained by the Hollywood-affiliated anti-piracy group VAP but it was called into doubt by the ISP. This led to the Austrian Supreme Court referring the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Earlier this year the ECJ handed down its widely publicized decision which stated that yes, in reasonable circumstances, pirate sites can indeed be blocked by European ISPs.

Read the Full Article: Source – Torrent Freak
http://torrentfreak.com/court-orders-immediate-pirate-site-blockade-141003/

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