Dramatico Entertainment Limited & Ors v British Sky Broadcasting Limited & Ors

Ian Mill QC and Tom Richards acted for the UK record industry in obtaining orders against five major internet service providers requiring them to block their subscribers’ access to The Pirate Bay website.

Instructed by the Claimants (who are representative members of the entire UK record industry) in a claim under Section 97A of the Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 for orders against all the major UK internet service providers requiring them to block their subscribers’ access to the world’s largest Bittorent tracker site, The Pirate Bay. On 20 February 2012, Arnold J ruled in the Claimants’ favour that the operators and users of that site infringe the Claimants’ copyrights in the UK. On 27April 2012 the Court made widely publicised orders, and on 2 May 2012 handed down a further judgment, allowing the Claimants’ claim and requiring five of the six defendant ISPs to block their subscribers’ access to The Pirate Bay. The case against the sixth ISP, BT, is scheduled for hearing in June.  This action is at the forefront of the UK record industry’s response to the increasingly disastrous financial consequences to it of internet piracy. It is anticipated that similar applications will be made in relation to other websites over the coming months.