eircom today confirms that the company will block access to the website the PirateBay.org, its related domain names, IP addresses and URLs from this morning the 1st September 2009. Therefore eircom broadband customers who attempt to access the Pirate Bay website from this time will be denied entry.

In making the Order, requiring eircom to block access to the PirateBay website, the High Court was satisfied that the website is dedicated to facilitating the illegal downloading of copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owners.

eircom recognises the legitimate rights of the owners of copyrighted material and believes that individuals who share or download copyrighted material without the authorisation or the permission of the owner of that content are acting illegally.

eircom has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the four major labels to develop an innovative new music service for all Irish consumers. This new music service is expected to launch in the next few months.

eircom would like to reassure customers that as part of the block:

eircom will not monitor customers’ activities at any stage, nor will it place any monitoring equipment or software on its network in order to facilitate this block.

eircom will not provide personal details or any information relating to customers to any third party, including the record companies.

Background

On Friday, 24th July representatives of the music industry, The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) applied for and secured an order from the High Court directing eircom to block access to the Pirate Bay website (www.thepiratebay.org) and its related domain names, IP address and URLs.

The blocking of access to the website is indefinite. However, should the Pirate Bay website content be legitimised in the future, eircom will apply to the High Court to have the order vacated.