A judge has handed down an order which requires ISPs in India to permanently block The Pirate Bay, RARBG, Torrentz2, 1337x, FMovies, and several similar sites. The order further suggests that if users in India continue accessing pirated content, they could be hit with emails, popups, and fines.

Website blocking on copyright grounds has been going on for some time in India, mainly via so-called John Doe orders, where large numbers of websites are blocked temporarily to protect various new movie releases.

As highlighted last year, however, rightsholders have been looking for a more permanent solution. Going back and forth to court is an inefficient process, particularly when the same key ‘pirate’ sites are often in the thick of the action .

Their wishes now appear to have been granted by the High Court in Delhi.

Following a series of eight complaints filed by Twentieth Century Fox and local Disney-owned media giant UTV Software Communications, Justice Manmohan handed down an order Wednesday which targets some of the largest torrent and streaming sites on the Internet.

The Pirate Bay, RARBG, Torrentz2, 1337x, ExtraTorrent, YTS, FMovies and BMovies are all listed, along with several alternative domain names and/or proxies employed by some of the sites (full list below).

The plaintiffs’ arguments were in line with the majority of similar blocking orders requested elsewhere in the world. The sites and their users infringe their copyrights by offering or facilitating access to their protected content, contrary to local law, they argued.

The 99-page order (pdf) is extremely detailed and alphabetically lists successful blocking cases in many other countries – from Australia to Uruguay – adding weight to the argument that they should also be blocked in India.

The Court also noted that despite being served via the contact information provided in their WHOIS details, none of the sites chose to “rebut or challenge” any of the evidence produced by the plaintiffs, which inevitably led to the conclusion that in the opinion of the Court, all are liable for copyright infringement under Section 51 of the Copyright Act.

When making its order, the Court also considered whether handing down a blocking injunction would “make one an opponent of a free and open Internet”. It concluded otherw ise, noting that “advocating limits on accessing illegal content online” does not violate the principles of an open Internet.

On the thorny issue of tackling the inevitable appearance of mirrors and proxies after a blocking order is issued, the Court said that the plaintiffs will be able to file an affidavit containing the details. These will be considered and, where appropriate, blocking instructions will be handed to ISPs.

In closing, the Court ordered all of the defendant websites and anyone working with them to stop “hosting, streaming, reproducing, distributing, making available to the public and/or communicating to the public, or facilitating the same, on their websites, through the internet in any manner whatsoever, any cinematograph work/content/programme/show in relation to which plaintiffs have copyright.”

A decree was also passed instructing local ISPs to permanently block the websites in question.

Finally, the Court also published a “suggestion” which could set hearts racing among pirates in India .

Describing website blocking as “cumbersome”, the order states that the majority of visitors to pirate sites are by “youngsters who do not have knowledge that the said content is infringing and / or pirated.”

It’s therefore suggested that the relevant authorities should explore the possibility of sending emails, pop-ups, or other warnings to those who continue to consume infringing content.

“In the event the warning is not heeded to and the viewers / subscribers continue to view, access or download the infringing/pirated content then a fine could be levied on the viewers/subscribers,” the Court added.

The full list of domains to be blocked is as follows:

1337x.to, torrentz2.eu, bmovies.to, bmovies.is, fmovies.is, fmovies.se, fmovies.to, bmovies.se, fmovies.pe, fmovies.io, fmovies.taxi, bmovies.ru, fmovies.world, rarbg.is, rarbg.com, rarbg.to, rarbgproxy.org, thepiratebay.org, thepiratebay.se, yts.am, yts.ag, yts.tw, yts-yify.gold, yts.altorrente.com, yts.gy, yify.is, extratorrent.ag, torrentz.ht, torrentmovies.co