Pay TV company Foxtel is preparing to launch a legal case “in the coming months” to have piracy-related websites like The Pirate Bay blocked from access in Australia.

The company has told the ABC it is currently receiving legal advice on “how best to put the legislation into effect” and expects to do so soon.

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But legal experts and internet user groups are surprised they have not yet seen a Federal Court site-blocking case, and that it may be several more months before it happens.

“We are astounded, given the urgency with which this law was passed at the urging of the rights holders, that so far they haven’t bothered to use it,” Laurie Patton from the peak organisation for internet users Internet Australia said.

There has not yet been a case under Australia’s site-blocking legislation, which was signed into law on June 26.

In late May, Attorney-General George Brandis told a Senate Estimates hearing he wanted to “have that legislation through the Parliament before Parliament rises for the winter recess”.

During the hearing he stressed the legislation was vital to the future of Australia’s copyright industries.

“[It] is a matter of very great importance to the creative industries in particular,” he said.

“And I have said many times that they are entitled to the fruits of their labour, like anyone else, and their capacity to be fully remunerated for the fruits of their labour is being very significantly eroded by piracy of their audio and visual product.”

The legislation was quickly passed through Parliament after receiving support from the Labor Party.

“We would have thought that they’d [rights holders] have a raft of cases ready to go if the [piracy] problem is that critical,” Mr Patton said.

“Internet Australia is concerned at the tendency of the Government to rush to pass legislation that affects the internet without having any serious proof that it will do what they hope it will do.”

To try and find out why there appears to be a disconnect between the sense of urgency prior to the legislation being passed, and no subsequent legal action, the ABC asked the opinion of as many people and organisations as possible who made a submission to a Senate inquiry into the legislation.

Broadly, rights holders are still very supportive of the legislation and say it is only a matter of time until a case is launched. But many are still questioning the legislation.

“The ‘urgency’ was transparently absurd for legislation such as this. It was not at all a matter of national security, life or death,” Chris Berg from the Institute of Public Affairs said.

“As the Government itself pointed out, the infringement it was intended to prevent had been going on for a long time.”

Jon Lawrence of Electronic Frontiers Australia, which says it exists “to protect and promote the civil liberties” of computer users, agrees.

“Evidently this law was neither as urgent nor as necessary as Mr Brandis claimed,” he said.

“It is unsurprising that he has seriously misunderstood the reality in this regard given his refusal to consult with consumer representatives.”