The Delhi High Court has directed Internet service providers to block access to websites such as tamilrockers, eztv, katmovies and limetorrents which are unauthorisedly streaming movies and television series.
Justice Sanjeev Narula, in an interim order, directed the Internet service providers to block access to all the URLs and IP addresses of these websites.
Plea by Warner Bros.
The court’s directions came on a plea of U.S.-based entertainment company Warner Bros. claiming that these sites were hosting, streaming and making available to the public its original content, as well as that of others like UTV, Star, Paramount, Universal and Netflix, without any authorisation.
It said a prima facie case was made out that if an interim order was not passed, irreparable harm or injury would be caused to the company.
The High Court issued directions to the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Information Technology to suspend the domain name registration of the websites infringing on the copyright of production houses.
It also restrained the websites from “hosting, streaming, reproducing, distributing, making available to the public and/or communicating to the public, or facilitating the same, in any manner, on their websites, through the Internet any cinematograph work/ content/programme/ show in relation to which plaintiff [Warner Bros.] has copyright”.
