【Sigad Sharaf】

Say goodbye to Pirate Bay,Sigad Sharaf Australia. (At least, until you figure out how to use a VPN.)

In a landmark case in the Federal Court in Sydney Thursday, Justice Nicholas ordered internet providers "take reasonable steps" to block websites including Solar Movie, Pirate Bay, Torrentz, TorrentHound and IsoHunt. 

Under a site blocking law passed in 2015, Foxtel and Roadshow applied to the court in February for an injunction to force internet service providers (ISPs) such as Telstra and Optus to block sites that they claimed had the "primary purpose" of supporting copyright infringement.

At the time, they cited the pirating of shows such as Wentworth and Real Housewives of Melbourne.

The site blocking law was the result of years of lobbying by copyright holders, including Foxtel and Roadshow, for greater legal solutions to what they see as Australia's insatiable piracy problem.

How and who pays?

As no one from the sites actually on the chopping block turned up to protest their classification as piracy sites, the only real questions for the court were how would they be blocked and who would pay.

In his judgment, Justice Nicholas allowed the ISPs to take various technical steps when it came to blocking the sites for Australian internet users.

They can use Domain Name System (DNS) blocking, IP Address blocking or re-routing, URL blocking, or "any alternative technical means ... as agreed in writing."

The ISPs also won a victory when it came to costs. Justice Nicholas ordered that the applicants, Foxtel and Roadshow, pay a contribution towards the compliance costs of Telstra, Optus, M2 and TPG, as well as a portion of legal costs.

Compliance costs include the payment of $50 per domain name blocked.

A game of "whack-a-mole"

From the start, critics of the site blocking law condemned it as being overly vague and quixotic, especially since blocked sites could easily remerge in new locations online.

For that reason, Foxtel and Roadshow also wanted to ensure any new versions of the piracy sites would automatically be blocked by the ISPs.

Lawyer Richard Lancaster, who was representing Foxtel and Roadshow, argued in June that the process of blocking "new access pathways" to the targeted sites should not be cumbersome.

Justice Nicholas again sided with the telcos on the matter, however, ordering that the court have oversight of any variations to Thursday's injunction.

"In the case of a variation to an existing injunction, the Court may be willing to act on very little in the way of further evidence," he wrote in his judgment. "Nevertheless, whether or not there should be such a variation remains a matter for the Court."

The first of many?

Now that the first site blocking case has ended, there may be more forthcoming from copyright holders eager to block their online antagonists, although Justice Nicholas' decision as to costs may be a deterrent.

Another case is already underway. Record companies, including Universal Music Australia and Warner Music Australia, have also applied to have the site KickassTorrents and proxy sites blocked in Australia.

Foxtel said Thursday it welcomed the court's decision.

"This judgment is a major step in both directly combating piracy and educating the public that accessing content through these sites is not OK, in fact it is theft," Foxtel CEO Peter Tonagh said in an emailed statement.

"This judgement gives us another tool to fight the international criminals who seek to profit from the hard work of actors, writers, directors and other creators the world over. "