Barely a week goes by without a headline applauding the closure of another handful of piracy sites, or a couple more million infringing links being zapped by takedown requests.

It’s always good news for rights-holders, even if it can sometimes feel a little bit piecemeal, like the powers that be are trying to bail out a torrent of pirate-infested water with a holey bucket.

But on May 1, new laws come into effect which could deal a bigger blow to ...