Brooklyn-based retailer 786 Wireless and its owner, Rana Afzal, were also sued.
The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) has filed a lawsuit in a federal court in New York against South Asian pirate video services Desi TV and Live TV.
Consistent with similar lawsuits coordinated by IBCAP, this case also includes claims against Brooklyn-based seller of the illegal services – known as 786 Wireless and its owner, Rana Afzal.
This lawsuit follows a long string of copyright cases coordinated by IBCAP and filed by IBCAP members against pirate services and their resellers, most of which have already resulted in significant damage awards and either removal of IBCAP protected channels, or a shutdown of the services entirely. In addition, lawsuits filed this year and awaiting decision against other South Asian pirates include Chitram TV for more than $31m and MyIndianTV for more than $26m in damages plus injunctive relief.
The lawsuit was brought by IBCAP member DISH Network and alleges that the operators of the Desi TV and Live TV services engaged in direct copyright infringement by transmitting South Asian channels and content airing on those channels without authorisation to users in the United States. The complaint also alleges that a retailer selling the services, 786 Wireless, is liable for secondary copyright infringement for encouraging and materially contributing to the direct infringement by, among other things, facilitating access to the copyrighted works and creating the audience for the infringement. Importantly, the complaint alleges that the defendants’ actions were willful and malicious for ignoring IBCAP’s notices of infringement. The complaint also seeks an injunction against the defendants, and their hosting companies and CDNs, that would prohibit the continued transmission of the channels at issue and that would prohibit any retailers from selling the infringing IPTV services.
Chris Kuelling, Executive Director of IBCAP, said: “This latest case reiterates that IBCAP and its members will not tolerate piracy and will take action against illegal IPTV services and their dealers who ignore our takedown notices. Dealers of these illegal IPTV services need to realize that they are risking their entire business by being involved, and it simply is not worth taking that risk.”
As with prior lawsuits coordinated by IBCAP, NAGRA provided significant investigatory and technical assistance to prepare the evidence necessary to support the case.
Jean-Philippe Plantevin, VP of Anti-piracy Services at NAGRA, added: “As a long-term partner of IBCAP, NAGRA is proud to have provided intelligence and evidence to support this lawsuit against South Asian pirate video services. For decades, NAGRA has been committed to helping the industry protect its considerable investment in content production and distribution. Piracy is a problem that has to be met with a defined strategy, the best anti-piracy tools available, and the full engagement of key stakeholders. We are proud to support this latest case, and we will continue to work with IBCAP on similar cases in the future.”
