Court Blocks Illegal File-Sharing Website

Five internet providers have been ordered by the High Court to block users' access to the illegal file-sharing website, The Pirate Bay.

Sky, Everything Everywhere, TalkTalk, O2 and Virgin Media have been told to stop customers from using the Swedish-based site over the next few weeks.

Speaking on Jeff Randall Live, Olaf Swantee, chief executive of Everything Everywhere, the umbrella group for Orange and T-Mobile said: "We will block it as quickly as possible."

He added: "My technical people believe they can do this (block website Pirate Bay) overnight. It's an illegal business model and we need to make sure we protect customers from illegal business models."

A spokesman for Sky said that it is company policy to comply with court orders.

"As and when clear and legally robust evidence of copyright theft is presented, we will take appropriate action in respect to site blocking," the spokesman said.

A sixth internet provider, British Telecom, has been granted an additional period to consider its position.

It follows a decision by the court in February that both the operators and users of the website are infringing the copyright of music companies.

The decision is a victory for the British Phonographic Industry - which represents music companies - which has been campaigning against the sharing of copyrighted material online.

BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor said: "The High Court has confirmed that The Pirate Bay infringes copyright on a massive scale.

"Its operators line their pockets by commercially exploiting music and other creative works without paying a penny to the people who created them.

"Sites like The Pirate Bay destroy jobs in the UK and undermine investment in new British artists."

Founded in 2003, The Pirate Bay has more than five million registered users and is estimated to offer access to more than four million files.

It has survived raids on its servers by Swedish police and legal challenges in countries all over the world.

Four men, including the website's founders Gottfrid Svartholm and Frekrik Neij, are appealing their conviction by a Swedish court on charges of assistance to copyright infringement.

Technology journalist Tom Dunmore told Sky News: "It's going to be increasingly difficult for The Pirate Bay to get anywhere but the thing is with these peer sites is that it's not about shutting one down because others will pop up again.

"The internet allows people to share data easily, so really the music and film industries are fighting a losing battle.

"Their focus needs to be on providing great, legal alternatives.

"They're starting to appear now. Subscription services like NetFlix and Spotify that offer decent value and the sort of breadth of choice that you can get on the illegal sites."