SYDNEY: A Federal Court has ordered Internet service providers (ISPs)  to block access to 86 Web sites alleged to be pirating programs from the likes of Village Roadshow, Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros.

The court has also sanctioned the implementation of a new process that may result in those sites being re-blocked sooner if they change their name or Web address.

The process allows production companies to reach out to the ISPs directly in the event that a blocked piracy site re-emerges under a new name or address – and request the new URL also be blocked. 

Unless the ISPs object, they will be obliged to block the additional URLs.

It’s the latest legal win for the group of film and television production companies, which have previously taken successful legal action against Australian piracy sites.

The court ordered ISPs to take reasonable steps within 15 days to block access to the new sites, which include torrent directories, unofficial streaming sites and proxy un-blockers.