The Federal Court has ordered internet companies to block copyright-infringing websites like The Pirate Bay.

Copyright holders Foxtel and Village Roadshow lodged applications in the Federal Court to have five copyright-infringing websites blocked under the Government's new website-blocking laws.

What are the sites being blocked?

There are a total of 61 domains belonging to The Pirate Bay, Torrentz, TorrentHound and IsoHunt torrent websites, as well as streaming site Solar Movie.

When will the sites go down?

Internet companies have 15 business days to implement the blocks.

This decision matters because it is the first test of the Government's website-blocking laws.

It will serve as a template for future decisions.

Can you still access the sites?

Once the sites are blocked, if you try to visit them you will see a warning page, informing you that the site can not be accessed.

The "landing page", as it is referred to, has to be hosted by either the ISP or the rights holder.

The page will show that access has been disabled by order of the Federal Court because it "infringes or facilitates the infringement of copyright".

However, torrent websites have proven to be difficult to block — regularly appearing at different web addresses through mirrors and proxies.

Who pays?

Copyright holders will have to pay $50 per domain to internet companies.