Despite online copyright infringement being widely recognised as a problem, there continues to be disagreement about the best form of response. In recent years, the focus has been on legislative and non-legislative graduated response schemes, which have been introduced in many countries but continue to be controversial. Australia has been slow to respond to the problem, despite the overrepresentation of Australians amongst the ranks of global internet infringers. In 2014, the Australian government undertook the first review of potential legislative options to address online infringement. One of the options identified was the potential for rights holders to be given a sui generis right of action to obtain no fault website blocking injunctions against ISPs. With the recent announcement that the Australian government intends to amend the Copyright Act 1986 (Cth) to allow rights holders to seek such injunctions,, this article examines the case for website blocking injunctions and how this form of relief has emerged as the preferred method of tackling online infringement in the United Kingdom and Europe.
