A coalition of Hollywood film studios, record companies and publishers has formally requested that BT block The Pirate Bay, one of the largest illegal filesharing sites in the world, after winning a landmark high-court ruling designed to enforce UK copyright law.

A coalition led by music industry body the BPI has written a letter to BT, the UK's largest internet service provider with 6 six milllion customers, asking the telecoms company to block The Pirate Bay voluntarily.

Fronted by trade bodies including BPI, Pact, the Motion Picture Association and the Publishers Association – the coalition aims to force BT's hand after last week's high-court ruling last week set a precedent ordering it to block filesharing site Newzbin2.

Justice Arnold ordered BT to block Newzbin2, which Hollywood studios accused of promoting illegal filesharing "on a grand scale", within two weeks, potentially opening floodgates for a wave of requests to block similar illegal download services.

The coalition has requested BT block access to The Pirate Bay or, if it refuses to do so, consent to a court order.

A BT spokesman said: "We can confirm we are now in receipt of a letter from the BPI [ requesting that BT block the Pirate Bay site]. BT is considering its response.

In line with the Newzbin judgment, a court order will be needed before any blocking could begin. BT is currently focused on implementation of that order."

"Now that the high court has clarified the law, as a sector we need to keep up the pressure on these illegal sites," said John Smith, general secretary of the Musicians' Union.

Since 2009, a number of ISPs in other European countries, including Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Belgium and Sweden, have been ordered to implement blocking measures against The Pirate Bay.

The BPI chief executive, Geoff Taylor, said The Pirate Bay was "no more than a huge scam" defrauding the global creative sector.

"We would not tolerate Counterfeits R Us on the high street – if we want economic growth, we cannot accept illegal rip-off sites on the internet either," he said.