The High Court in Ireland has made its decision in a copyright infringement case brought by the major recording labels against several top ranking ISPs. The labels said that the service providers should be prohibited from facilitating subscriber access to The Pirate Bay and today the Court agreed. UPC, Imagine, Vodafone, Digiweb, Hutchison 3G and Telefonica O2 now have 30 days in which to block the infamous torrent site.

The Irish Recorded Music Association which represents the major recording labels has long sought a comprehensive ISP blockade against The Pirate Bay in Ireland.

Their mission was partially completed when they squeezed a voluntary agreement from ISP Eircom in 2009. Ever since they have continued to push against several others in the hope of victory.

In a fresh process which began months ago EMI, Sony, Warner and Universal demanded that ISPs UPC, Imagine, Vodafone, Digiweb, Hutchison 3G and Telefonica O2 all stop facilitating access to The Pirate Bay.

In court at the end of May the labels argued that as many as 200,000 Irish ISP users access TPB every month, causing losses to the labels of around 20 million euros a year. This situation, they said, required a court order to force the ISPs to take action within 30 days.

The application by IRMA was the first of its kind since Ireland’s signing into law of the European Union (Copyright and Related Rights) Regulations 2012. Described by some as “Ireland’s SOPA“, the legislation was penned to make it easier for rightsholders to have sites such as The Pirate Bay blocked by court order. It appears to have done its job.

Today in the High Court, Mr Justice Brian McGovern granted the order and said he was satisfied that the new legislation permitted an infringing site blockade.

“There is no doubt but that this activity has caused, and continues to cause, substantial financial damage to the plaintiffs,” he said.

In common with similar orders out of the UK High Court, IRMA will not have to return to court for a fresh order should The Pirate Bay move around or change its setup in an attempt to avoid censorship.

Despite being innocent parties, the ISPs will have to swallow the costs of initiating the blockade. In line with IRMA’s demands they have just 30 days to do so, meaning that by mid July the majority of Ireland’s Internet users will have to find a new way to access the site, whether that be via proxies or VPNs.

It remains to be seen whether the ISPs will also block proxy sites as they did in the UK this week, but it is likely that the labels have learned from their past experiences making this a distinct possibility.