Anonymous member jumps on stage at Spanish cinema awards ceremony
Anonymous member jumps on stage at Goya awards ceremony in Madrid (Gizmondo) Gizmondo

The Spanish branch of the Anonymous hacker collective invaded Spain's equivalent of the Oscars awards ceremony in Madrid to protest against an anti-piracy law.

Three hacktivists slipped through police and private security controls and tried to rush the stage at the Goya film awards, or Goyas.

The Anonymous members tried to reach the stage while the award for best director was being presented but were stopped by security.

In a co-ordinated attack, Anonymous also targeted the Spanish film academy web page. Members published contact information of actors, actresses and directors who support the so-called Ley Sinde, Spain's "sustainability economic law" which includes clauses covering intellectual property and online piracy.

Online activists claim the law, which they liken to the abandoned Stop Online Piracy Act (Sopa) in the US, would enable the government to shut down any kind of web pages for piracy allegations without a court order. The law was passed in January.

A newly created body, the Intellectual Property Committee (IPC), has the power to request websites suspected of breaching intellectual property rights to remove offending content within 48 hours.

In case of suspected piracy websites, the IPC may request a court order to withdraw the pirated content.