MOSCOW, July 29 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court has blocked 15 sites that distribute the pirated versions of the popular western series including Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire and American Horror Story, the court's spokesperson Ulyana Solopova told RAPSI on Tuesday.

The court also recovered the state duty from the defendants, Solopova said.

In May, the court limited access to the rutor.org, lostfilm.tv, kinoylei.ru, igra-prestoloff.net, torrentor.net, kinokubik.com, bigcinema.tv, online-life.ru, bobfilm.net, tushkan.net, kiwi.kz, kinosvit.tv, seedoff.net, mytv.kz, and gamethrones.ru websites.

The ruling was made on a lawsuit filed by A.Serial, the company that holds the exclusive distribution right to Game of Thrones. The ruling reads that the series was distributed on these websites without the rights holder’s permission.

Game of Thrones is an adaptation of “A Song of Ice and Fire,” a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first of which was published in 1996 and is titled “A Game of Thrones.” Set in the fictional Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, the series chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the realm’s noble families for control of the Iron Throne. The show features “medieval” violence and the often unexpected but logical death of many of its main characters. This sometimes shocks viewers, but it has also given the series a breakthrough approach in terms of series scriptwriting.

The anti-piracy law took effect in Russia on August 1, 2013, despite protests from Internet companies. It sets out the legal grounds and procedure for limiting access to websites that distribute movies and TV films in violation of copyright. The law also sets out the rules for bringing to account or condoning information brokers (Internet and hosting providers).