UK High Court Issues 'omnibus' Order To Streamline Piracy Blocking

TechUK High Court Issues 'omnibus' Order To Streamline Piracy BlockingByEmma Woollacott,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Emma Woollacott is a freelance journalist Follow AuthorMay 27, 2026, 07:41am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Close-up of the statue of Lady Justice at the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court) in London.gettyWith pirate sites frequently evading court orders by switching names or website domains, the U.K. is moving to make it easier to make blocking orders stick.Pirate operators have been using APIs to register domains in bulk, evading site blocks by simply rotating them, using the same infrastructure, content libraries and functionality.Until now, UK Section 97A Copyright Act orders required rights holders to identify individual domains for blocking, with a subsequent 2022 ruling allowing action against mirror sites and related pirate brands.However, operators often hide behind fictitious or stolen identities and fail to comply with cease-and-desist letters; meanwhile, hosting servers are often untraceable, shielded by anonymization techniques or by being located in countries where legal enforcement is extremely difficult.Now, though, the Motion Picture Association has said it's successfully persuaded the U.K. High Court to streamline the process for blocking access to proven piracy services through the use of an "omnibus" order.This will allow rights holders to "seek blocking of any “structurally infringing audiovisual piracy services that meet defined criteria, without having to bring a fresh court application for each new domain or site name available in the future".MORE FOR YOUThe order will last for six months, but can be extended under certain conditions.“This order, built on a years-long track record of safe, responsible, and effective prior orders affirms that jud...