Gregor Pryor, Partner and digital media specialist in the Technology and Media team at Reed Smith, comments on the Newzbin judgement:

"Although the law on which the movie studios rely to block access to Newzbin has been in force for some time, this is the first occasion that a court has upheld it in relation to an ISP. This is a welcome victory for rightsowners, who have been deprived of income due to Newzbin's illegal activities. However, as a test case, it has set a precedent that has the potential to result in a flurry of less worthy court applications to block infringing content. Innumerable websites carry user-uploaded content and could equally now be the subject of a request for ISP blocking. YouTube is but one example.

"On a broader level, time will tell if this case will have a meaningful impact on piracy, or whether persistent serial infringers and pirates will find, as they have in the past, other ways of circumventing the law. "

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Notes to editors

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