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While Australia\u2019s site-blocking mechanism has made few enemies since 2018, it hasn\u2019t been known for being fast.<\/p>\nWhile Australia\u2019s site-blocking mechanism has made few enemies since 2018, it hasn\u2019t been known for being fast.<\/p>\n
As discussed earlier this year<\/a>, accuracy has traditionally been favored over speed, which is contrary to less cautious approaches taken in other countries.<\/p>\n After an unprecedented request and cooperation from the Federal Court, Australia will now step up several gears and show whether it can achieve both.<\/p>\n When Justice Halley handed down his order in Universal City Studios LLC v Telstra Limited [2025] FCA 1390<\/em> on November 12, in most respects it was much like any other issued in recent years. <\/p>\n Member studios of the MPA \u2013 Universal, Disney, Paramount, Columbia, Warner Bros., Netflix and Apple (plus Viacom) requested an injunction under Section 115A of the Copyright Act, requiring around 50 local ISPs (operating as Telstra, Optus, Vocus, TPG Telecom, Aussie Broadband and Superloop) to block 52 overseas-based pirate streaming sites.<\/p>\n The copyright works applicants aim to protect necessarily play a key role in blocking proceedings. The difference in this case was the emphasis placed on the Universal Pictures movie Wicked: For Good<\/em> and its inevitable appearance on high-traffic sites using familiar branding: HydraHD, Hurawatch, Braflix, Soap2Day, MyFlixer, HiAnime, OnionPlay, 123movies, SolarMovies, Gomovies, Fmovies<\/em> \u2013 the list goes on\u2026\u2026and on.<\/p>\n With Wicked: For Good<\/em>\u2018s international release scheduled for November 17, Australian ISPs agreed to take all reasonable steps to disable access to 23 sites as a matter of urgency, with the remaining 29 to be blocked within the usual span of 15 business days.<\/p>\n In order to have a fighting chance against adaptable piracy platforms, a dynamic blocking order was issued, meaning that new domains and IP addresses could be added to deal with the inevitable countermeasures. Under normal circumstances, that can take time but for Wicked: For Good<\/em>\u2018s theatrical release in Australia, time was already running out.<\/p>\n Less than two weeks after handing down the initial order, Justice Halley was handing down a second. Dated November 25, the order reveals that studios filed an urgent application for an order to tackle countermeasures deployed by the sites. <\/p>\n Operating from new domains, described in the order as \u201cAdditional Urgent Access Means\u201d, the sites were already illegally distributing Wicked: For Good<\/em> which was set to continue playing in theaters in Australia until the end of 2025.<\/p>\n New domains, IP addresses, and\/or URLs are normally reported by rightsholders to the ISPs, who are then expected to respond within seven working days. If neither the respondent nor the court requires the matter to be relisted, the ISPs have a further 15 working days to disable access.<\/p>\n The prospect of the movie being distributed unhindered for free until Christmas Eve was considered unacceptable. <\/p>\n On November 28, just over two weeks after handing down the initial blocking order, Justice Halley authorized a second.<\/p>\n In response to the studios\u2019 calls for urgency, Universal City Studios LLC v Telstra Limited [2025] FCA 1485<\/em> targeted the \u2018Additional Urgent Access Means\u2019 (new domain names\/IP addresses\/URLs) deployed by the sites to circumvent the previously implemented blocks. <\/p>\n The court recognized that standard procedures, which require notification and then a response period, would allow the sites to operate unhindered for at least 22 days.<\/p>\n \u201cThis would have the consequence that those sites would remain accessible for the majority of the theatrical release period for the film \u2018Wicked: For Good\u2019 which would have the likely effect of reducing the commercial success of the film as infringing copies of the film would be available without charge from the Additional Urgent Access Means,\u201d Justice Halley noted in his order.<\/p>\n To combat this, the new order required the ISPs to disable access to the new means of access, whether domain names, IP addresses, or URLs, by 4.00 pm on Friday, November 28, 2025. As far as we\u2019re aware, a response time this short is unprecedented in Australia.<\/p>\n The ability to quickly respond to blocking countermeasures is crucial. For Australia, this is new territory but shouldn\u2019t be unnecessarily difficult. However, as months of delay have decreased to weeks and now just days, rightsholders elsewhere in the world \u2013 especially in the live sports arena \u2013 still aren\u2019t satisfied, even when blocking takes place within hours. In some areas, rightsholders consider 10 minutes to be reasonable.<\/p>\n Under those demands, Australia\u2019s traditional accuracy would face challenges, with or without a reduction in overall piracy rates. Right now, despite aggressive worldwide blocking measures, piracy continues to trend up.<\/p>\n The orders dated November 12 and November 28 are available here<\/a> and here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n From: TF<\/a>, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.<\/p>\nNot Just Another Blocking Order<\/h2>\n
Additional Urgent Access Means<\/h2>\n
Urgent Additional Blocking Order<\/h2>\n
Rapid Response<\/h2>\n