A court in France has ordered Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to block 16 video-streaming sites from their search results.
The case was brought by five groups representing film companies, distributors and producers.
The High Court in Paris ruled the websites were dedicated to the "distribution of works without consent of their creators". Several internet service providers were also ordered to block the sites.
The two-year legal battle involved the streaming of copyrighted content on sites including allostreaming, Fifostream and dpstream.
The court said the sites broke French intellectual property laws and were "almost entirely dedicated" to streaming content without the owners' permission.
Google, Microsoft and Yahoo must now take measures to ensure the blocked pages cannot be found in a list of search results. ISPs, including Orange and Bouygues Telecom, will also have to prevent users from being able to access the sites.
