Lightbox, MediaWorks, SKY and TVNZ say they are confident their legal position is strong as they take action against Global Mode.

The courts will now decide whether ISPs can allow their customers to access TV shows and movies from overseas providers.

The four New Zealand companies say while some ISPs say they will cease operating Global Mode, Call Plus and Bypass Network Services will not.

The companies say they invest significant sums of money into the rights to screen content sourced legitimately from the creators and owners of that copyrighted material.

They say this being undermined.

They say the case is about defending the value of content rights in the digital world, in order to invest with more certainty in the future.