In what has been described as a landmark ruling, a Swedish court has made a major internet service provider halt its users’ access to The Pirate Bay for the next three years. Other internet providers in Sweden and across Europe could be forced to do the same.

On Monday, the Patent and Market Court of Appeal ordered that Bredbandsbolaget, a major Swedish network provider, must start blocking access to the notorious torrent site The Pirate Bay as well as a local streaming portal Swefilmer.

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An earlier claim against Bredbandsbolaget was thrown out by Stockholm's District Court in 2015, where it was not found responsible for the actions of The Pirate Bay and the now shut-down Swefilmer. However, the case – originally filed in 2014 by Universal, Sony, Warner, Nordisk Film and members of the Swedish film industry – was appealed, leading to the latest decision in the Patent and Market Court.

"This follows EU law, and Swedish law should be interpreted in accordance to EU law. Similar orders have already been delivered in Denmark, Finland, France and the UK among others, but today's ruling is the first of its kind in Sweden," presiding judge Christine Lager explained in a statement.

The court order, which can’t be appealed, will stay in place for three years, during which time, if broken, can lead to a fine of up to 500,000 kronor ($56,000). The court’s decision was welcomed by the claimants, who hope that the case will set a precedent against piracy and encourage similar rulings that will move Swedish law closer to that of neighboring countries.

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"We know from Denmark and Norway that these are effective measures," Per Strömbäck, a representative of the Swedish film industry's co-operation committee, told Dagens Nyheter.

Representatives of Telenor, the Norwegian company which owns Bredbandsbolaget, said they were disappointed with the verdict.

"We are extremely surprised by the verdict because it goes against what the legislature intended," Telenor’s chief legal counsel Anna Bystrom told Dagens Nyheter.

“We don't think blocking access is the right way to go. There are other ways to deal with this issue."

Over the years, Sweden has been accused of not doing enough to prevent online piracy. The Pirate Bay, probably the internet’s most well-known file-sharing site, has been operating from the country since 2003, periodically changing its domain name to stay one step ahead of the authorities.