NAGHAIN ng kaso ang ABS-CBN Corporation laban sa Kissasian.com para sa damages na nagkakahalaga ng $8 million para sa kasong “infringement of trademarks and registered copyrights” ng 27 na ABS-CBN television shows at pelikula, kasama na rito ang Be My Lady, Born for You, Dolce Amore, You’re Still the One, Etiquette for Mistresses, Ex With Benefits, at marami pang iba. Ang kaso ay isinampa sa US Federal District Court.
Bukod pa rito, nabigyan ang ABS-CBN ng amended default judgment ng $11 million laban sa 11 na online streaming websites na ayon sa kompaniya ay patuloy na nagpapapakita ng pirated versions ng programming nito.
Ayon kay Assistant Vice President of Global Anti-Piracy Elisha Lawrence, “We are stepping up our anti-piracy enforcement in 2017. These pirate sites often victimize our fans when they access these sites and are later attacked by malware which steals their financial and personal data. We are going after every pirate wherever they live and operate. We arrested and sued numerous pirates last year and we plan to quadruple that effort this year.”
Sa amended default judgment ni U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas, itinatala na ang bawat isang defendant ay magbabayad ng hindi bababa sa $1 million bilang statutory damages. Inutusan din ng korte na tumigil ang defendants sa pagsagawa ng mga ito ng “advertising, promoting, performing, copying, broadcasting or distributing ABS-CBN’s copyrighted work, which includes a variety of television programming.”
Sa pirated websites na ito, kasama ang Freepinoychannel.com at Pnoytambayantv.com sa pinagbabayad ng $1.18 million bilang statutory damages bawat isa. Samantala, ang Lambingan.to, Pinoynetwork.to at Tambaytayo.com naman ay pinagbabayad ng $1.09 million bawat isa. Ang Pinoymovie.to naman ay pinagbabayad ng $1.24 million sa statutory damages.
Sa naturang websites, ipinapalabas ang on-demand streaming performances ng full-length versions ng television shows at mga pelikula ng network at iba pang outlets, ayon sa lawsuit.
“Defendants’ websites are classic examples of pirate operations, often with poor quality. We invest a great deal in our television shows and movies so the customers have a superior viewing experience. These pirates are willfully infringing ABS-CBN’s copyrighted works and damaging the ABS-CBN brand,” ani Lawrence.
Hiling ng network ang statutory damages sa bawat counterfeit trademark na ginamit sa halagang $2 million at triple ng pinagkakitaan ng mga defendant mula sa alleged infringement.
Kinatawan ang ABS-CBN sa kasong ito ng Stephen M. Gaffigan. Ang kaso ay ABS-CBN Corp. et al. v.Kissasian.com., Case No. 0:17-cv-60352 and Case ABS-CBN Corp, et al. v. FreePinoyChannel.com et al., case number 0:15-cv-61002, sa U.S.
District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
