Irish court blocks illegal streaming of Premier League

Ireland has issued its first court order requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to block illegal streaming of English football matches.

On Monday July 15, the Irish Commercial Court granted the Premier League an injunction, which will stop illegal streaming on computers, set-top boxes and other devices ahead of the new season next month.

The ISPs named in the order were Eircom/Eir, Sky Ireland, Sky subscriber services, Virgin Media Ireland and Vodafone Ireland, according to The Irish Times.

Under the terms of the injunction, illegal streams must be targeted and disabled in real time using the latest advances in technology, the court said. Using these advances, it will be possible to block streams across several platforms and apps “in one blow”, it added.

The Premier League said that during match time, the internet protocol (IP) addresses of the streaming hosts will be updated “at least twice” during match time, making it easier for ISPS to block them.

It will be possible to respond “within minutes” to the illegal streaming, the association said. In the case that any legitimate hosts have their material blocked by the technology, they will be able to make an application to the court to have their IP addresses unblocked.

Additionally, the Premier League said the blocking technology will be stopped after each game has ended and reset each week to respond to the changing nature of infringement. It said the technology did not allow the identification of end users.

When streaming hosts are identified, they will be notified and will be required to notify end users of the injunction.

In its decision, the court said “continued illegal streaming undermines the value” of the association’s rights and if unchecked “was likely to impact on returns for the football clubs and wider sporting community”.