The Evolution of Copyright Website Blocking In the UK : Live Blocking Orders

Since the first copyright website blocking order issued in 2011, an evolution has occurred in the UK regarding — among other things — the type of blocking. Recently, the High Court of England and Wales granted the application of the Football Association Premier League for a live blocking order against a number of major UK ISPs. The court held that it had jurisdiction under s.97A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act to order relevant ISPs to temporarily block access to streaming services giving unauthorised access to the right holder's content (football matches). This contribution discusses the implications of these decisions against earlier UK case law and comments on possible future developments of s.97A orders