Coalition of International Broadcasters Announces Initiatives to Combat Piracy and Copyright Infringement
- Full-time monitoring and evidence capture in place
- Lawsuits filed against unauthorized services and dealers
DEARBORN, Mich. and NEW YORK, N.Y., June 8, 2015 – The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP), an organization of leading international broadcasters, today announced actions it is taking to fight for the rights of consumers to enjoy legal, authorized entertainment by combating piracy and copyright infringement. The coalition, which represents over 90 television channels from the Middle East and South Asia, proactively monitors and identifies unauthorized video services, collects evidence, and assists with legal actions and criminal investigations against organizations and individuals engaging in pirated activities.
“The purveyors of pirated content are often deceptive, leading customers to believe they are buying services with authorized channels when in fact many of the top channels are being pirated,” said Joe Boyle, an attorney for IBCAP. “Customers of these services, many who have paid $300 or more for a set top box, are often left without their favorite channels when legal action occurs or the unauthorized services are shut down. The services providing unauthorized content are engaging in direct copyright infringement and the dealers selling such services may be held liable by engaging in secondary copyright infringement. IBCAP’s goal is to combat these activities at all points along the distribution chain.”
“We joined IBCAP after our channels were illegally marketed and sold by pirates, a rampant problem in the United States that we want to help solve,” said Fares Akkad, Head of Distribution for MBC. “While MBC content may be offered free-to-air in the Middle East, the same is not true for the U.S. Just because a dealer or device claims to have MBC programming does not mean they have the rights to show our content. We encourage consumers to ensure they are buying from an authorized source who will be able to deliver reliable service.”
“We will not tolerate the illegal distribution of Arabic channels in the U.S.” said Karim Abdullah, CEO of IMD, distributor of channels such as ART, LBC, LDC, Hekayet and NewTV. “Through IBCAP and other efforts, we are tracking down those who are illegally broadcasting our content while at the same time raising consumer awareness about the dangers of purchasing devices with infringing content.”
IBCAP members are joining together in the fight against copyright infringement and are taking legal actions against services and dealers. Last week, IBCAP members including Al Jazeera Media Network and MBC filed a lawsuit in Federal Court in the Eastern District of Virginia against Cres IPTV, ShavaTV and related dealers for allegedly engaging in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content. A copy of the complaint can be found here. Separately other legal actions against providers of unauthorized content, and dealers selling such services, are underway or already concluded. Examples include:
- Injunction against Arabic service and dealers. DISH Network L.L.C. recently won an injunction in Federal Court in Florida against Global Satellit IPTV Scandinavian AB, a provider of Arabic programming content, and its president, Basem Halabi. DISH sued Global Satellit IPTV and Halabi for federal claims arising out of their copyright infringement for distributing certain Arabic language channels to purchasers of their “Global IPTV” set-top boxes and WebTV service. The Federal Court’s order includes a permanent injunction against Global Satellit IPTV and Halabi as well as an award of
$956,649 in damages under the Copyright Act. Dealer TV Net Solutions settled before trial for $5,000,000 and was also permanently enjoined by the Court. Read more here.
- Lawsuit against Polish service and dealers. Leading Polish television broadcasters have filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against PolskyTV, and major dealers of the PolskyTV service, alleging that these entities unlawfully disseminated television programming that rightfully belongs to the Polish television broadcasters. Read more here.
- Lawsuit against Chinese service and dealers. DISH and leading Chinese-language television providers TVB and CCTV have sued the manufacturers of the TVpad device for Copyright and Trademark Infringement and the manufacturer recently defaulted allowing DISH, TVB and CCTV to seek a default judgment. The lawsuit was filed in the
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against manufacturers and distributors of the “TVpad” device, service and apps for, among other things, allegedly setting up a pirate broadcasting network that illegally streams CCTV and TVB channels using peer-to-peer technology. The suit also targets certain dealers in the U.S. who allegedly advertise, sell, and distribute the TVpad device with infringing apps that enable access to the pirate network. Read more here.
IBCAP members include major broadcasters from the Middle East and South Asia to protect channels such as MBC, Al Jazeera, LBC, LDC, NewTV, BeIn Sports, SET, aapka Colors, Star Plus, Zee TV, ARY Digital and GEO TV. In addition to legal actions commenced by IBCAP members, the organization coordinates with government and trade offices in the U.S. and abroad, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and hardware and software manufacturers to identify and stop unauthorized distribution of video content.
More information can be found at www.ibcap.us.