Legal Cases
IBCAP Members’ Lawsuits Against IPTV Services
IBCAP members actively protect their copyrights by taking legal action including lawsuits against unauthorized IPTV services and retailers selling those services. These legal actions have resulted in large monetary awards and court orders requiring unauthorized IPTV providers and their retailers and internet providers to cease promoting, selling, distributing, or supporting IPTV services found to infringe copyrights. Retailers, ISP’s, CDN’s, and domain name providers must comply with court orders resulting in removal of popular channels and in some cases full shutdown of the service.
Case | Judgment Amount | Injunctive Relief | Links to Orders |
Virtual Systems (Hosting Company) Court: W.D. Wash. Filed: 10/15/2024 |
Litigation ongoing | Litigation ongoing | 001 – Complaint |
Fraifer Bankruptcy (Principal) Court: Bank. M.D. Fla. Filed: 6/22/22 |
Litigation ongoing | Litigation ongoing |
001 – Complaint for Non-Dischargeability 338 – Order Denying Confirmation of Second Amended Plan of Reorganization 339 – Order Converting Case to Chapter 7 |
Datacamp/CDN77 (CDN) Court: N.D. Ill. Filed: 2/25/22 |
$3,000,000 Settlement Payment | Datacamp agreed to takedown procedure and repeat infringer policy |
074 – Memorandum Opinion and Order |
Desi TV (Provider) Court: E.D.N.Y. Filed: 10/14/21 |
$26,850,000 | Defendants enjoined from infringing Plaintiff’s exclusive copyright rights; transfer of domain names |
045 – Request for Cert. of Default 052 – Order and Report and Recommendation 063 – Order Granting Judgment and Injunction 064 – Default Judgment and Injunction
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iStar IPTV (Provider) and Atlas Satellite (Retailer) Court: E.D. Mich. Filed: 9/21/21 |
$ 21,440,000.00 | Atlas and Al-Emara were permanently enjoined from distributing, selling, providing, or promoting any product or service that infringes certain IBCAP member channels and any of the programming on those channels. Moreover, the order prohibits Atlas and Al-Emara from advertising, displaying, or marketing any set-top-box or service that infringes those channels or any programming on those channels. |
01-1 – List of Exhibits to Complaint 026 – Judgment and Perm Injunction (Atlas Electronics and Al-Emara) |
Nezar Hammo Bankruptcy (Retailer) Court: Bank. M.D. Fla. Filed: 8/20/21 |
See ATN case for damages | Defendants were enjoined from distributing, providing, selling, or promoting any product, or service, including ATN set-top boxes, apps, service subscriptions, and any other set-top boxes and television subscription services, that reproduce, copy, transmit, stream, distribute, or publicly perform any of the [IBCAP Member Channels at issue] or any of the programming that comprises or appears on any of the [IBCAP Member Channels at issue] in the United States. |
01 – Voluntary Petition for Individuals Filing for Bankruptcy 015 – Order of Discharge (not discharged from bankruptcy) |
MyIndianTV (Provider) Court: E.D.N.Y. Filed: 8/10/21 |
$ 26,550,000.00 | Defendants and their parents, subsidiaries, and affilites were permanently enjoined from enabling, assisting, or consulting with other persons or entities to enter into any agreement or transaction to sell, lease, license, assign, convey, distribute, loan, encumber, pledge or otherwise transfer, any part of the system, software, source code, data file, other technology, domain names, trademarks, brands, or files used in connection with the MyIndianTV service or any comparable service. |
041 – Default Judgment and Permanent Injunction
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Chitram TV (Provider) and Dinesh Vigneswaran (Distributor) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 3/16/21 |
$ 32,000,000 | ChitramTV and its affiliates were enjoined from distributing certain IBCAP member channels or the works airing on those channels in the U.S. and distributing, selling, or promoting STBs, subscriptions, or services that provide access to IBCAP member channels or the works airing on those channels, among other requirements. |
040 – Default Judgment and Injunction Against Does 1-10 076 – Default Judgment and Injunction Against Vigneswaran Canada – Recognition of Judgment in Ontario
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Elahmad.com (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 2/24/21 |
Litigation ongoing | Litigation ongoing |
026 – Amended Motion for Entry of Default and Default Judgment |
ElafnetTV (Retailer) Court: M.D. Fla. Filed: 10/14/20 |
$ 16,050,000.00 | Defendants were enjoined from distributing, providing, selling, or promoting any product, or service, including ATN set-top boxes, apps, service subscriptions, and any other set-top boxes and television subscription services, that reproduce, copy, transmit, stream, distribute, or publicly perform any of the [IBCAP Member Channels at issue] or any of the programming that comprises or appears on any of the [IBCAP Member Channels at issue] in the United States. | |
Universe IPTV (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 8/24/20 |
$ 7,050,000 | All hosting companies, CDNs, social media companies, and email providers were enjoined from providing services that support the defendants’ enjoined activities. This includes an order specifically directing the disabling of 10 IP addresses used by Universe IPTV. The Court also enjoined all defendants and their distributors and retailers from transmitting the channels at issue in the United States or distributing, providing, selling, or promoting the Universe IPTV service in the United States. | |
Super Arab IPTV (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 5/13/20 |
$ 2,100,000.00 | Dealers and distributors were enjoined from selling the Super Arab service, ordering hosting providers to disable certain IP addresses used by Super Arab, ordering registries and registrars to disable current and future domains used by Super Arab, and enjoining CDNs and other infrastructure providers used in connection with the Super Arab service. |
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Jadoo Bankruptcy (Provider) Court: Bank. N.D. Cal. Filed: 1/9/20 |
Civil case is ongoing, but owner and CEO will not be permitted to hide behind a corporate shield and has been found personally liable for the damages caused by his and his company’s copyright infringement. |
022 – Second Order with Respect to Relief from Stay Motion and Motion for Preliminary Injunction |
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FreeTVAll Websites (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 11/21/19 |
$ 16,800,000 | An injunction against the owner of the infringing websites, a transfer of 15 domains including freetvall.com, and an injunction extending to use of non-party service providers such as website hosts and Content Delivery Networks (CDNs). |
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Easybox (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 8/12/19 |
$ 9,900,000 | Defendants were permanently enjoined from distributing certain IBCAP member channels in the U.S. and from selling Easybox STBs or IPTV subscriptions that stream the IBCAP member channels. Third-party providers may not provide any services to defendants related to their transmitting copyrighted shows. Registries disabled the domain names used to transmit the channels within 48 hours of this order. | |
East IPTV (Provider) and Serverlogy Corp. (CDN) Court: D. Del. Filed: 7/8/19 |
$ 2,700,000 | Registrars were ordered to transfer the service’s domains and any future domains used to infringe were disabled. The East IPTV service has been shut down as a result of the court order. |
012 – Easybox IPTV’s First Amended Complaint 012-1 – Exhibits to First Amended Complaint |
Tarboosh TV (Provider) Court: E.D. Va. Filed: 5/3/19 |
$ 2,400,000 | Defendant and his affiliates were permanently enjoined from reproducing, copying, transmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing in the U.S. any of the Protected Channels or any programming that comprises or appears on the Protected Channels, among other requirements. | |
East West Audio Video (Retailer) Court: C.D. Cal. Filed: 11/20/18 |
$ 500,000 | Defendants and their affiliates were permanently enjoined from reproducing, copying, transmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing in the U.S. any of the Protected Channels or any programming that comprises or appears on the Protected Channels, among other requirements. |
055 – Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction – East West Audio Video and Punit Bhatt |
Jadoo TV (Provider) and Sajid Sohail (Principal) Court: N.D. Cal. Filed: 11/20/18 |
$24,969,911 | Defendants enjoined from infringing Plaintiff’s exclusive copyright rights; Defendants paid $1,500,000 and shut down their business worldwide |
207 – Order Denying Motion to Dismiss 270 – Order Granting DISH Motion for Summary Judgment, Denying Sohail Motion for Summary Judgment |
Shava Canadian Action (Provider) Court: Ontario Superior Court of Justice Filed: 8/1/18 |
$ 26,130,000.00 | Defendants Imran Butt and Naeem Butt were permanently enjoined from further infringing on Plaintiffs’ exclusive rights in their copyrights and trademarks. | |
Goyal Group (Distributor and Retailers) Court: E.D.N.Y. Filed: 7/3/18 |
$ 2,160,000 | Defendants and any affiliates were enjoined from reproducing, copying, transmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing in the U.S., any of the Protected Channels or any programming that comprises or appears on the Protected Channels; distributing, providing, selling, or promoting any product, or service, including Shava TV STBs and television subscription services and any other STBs and television subscription services, that reproduce, copy, transmit, stream, distribute, or publicly perform any of the Protected Channels or any of the programming that comprises or appears on any of the Protected Channels in the U.S., unless authorized by DISH in a written agreement. |
069 – Final Judgment – Rana Technology and Mohammad Rana 070 – Final Judgment – Goyal Group and Chandra Goyal 071 – Final Judgment – ABC 1 NYC Inc., RS NYC 1, ABC Wireless 2, Bhalla, Sangpo, Lomanthang |
Spider TV (Provider) Court: D. Md. Filed: 5/2/18 |
$ 1,800,000 | Defendants and their affiliates were permanently enjoined from reproducing, copying, transmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing in the U.S., by means of any device or process, any of the Protected Channels; distributing, providing, or promoting any product or service, including Spider-TV STBs and service plans, that comprises the whole or part of a network or service for reproducing, copying, transmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing any of the Protected Channesl or any of the programming that comprises or appears on any of the Protected Channe,ls, among other requirements. |
023 – Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction – Dima and Yusif 042 – Report and Recommendation 043 – Order Adopting Report and Recomendation Granting Motion for Default Judgment [042] |
Ellas TV (Provider) and Mario Pappas (Principal) Court: N.D. Ill. Filed: 3/12/18 |
$ 700,000 | Attorney fees granted, injunction not specified in order granting summary judgment. | |
Tiger Star (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 12/29/17 |
$ 1,200,000 | Defendants and their affiliates were permanently enjoined from copyring by any means of any device or process the Protected Channels or any of the programming that comprises the Protected Channels; retransmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing in the U.S., by menas of the Tiger Star service, or any other device or process, the Protected Channels or the programming that comprises the Protected Channels, among other requirements. | |
BTV (Provider) Court: S.D.N.Y. Filed: 9/13/17 |
$ 6,600,000 | Defendants were permanentlly enjoined from distributing, selling, advertising, marketing or promoting any BTV Device, and/or comparable system that makes any infringing BTV Apps, any retransmission services or Plaintiffs’ copyrighted programming available to users of that device or comparable system, among other requirements. |
064 – Default Judgment and Permanent Injunction Order – Dibia Networks and Abdellah Hamead |
Crown IPTV (Provider) Court: E.D.N.Y. Filed: 8/25/17 |
$ 8,250,000 | Defendants were permanentlly enjoined from distributing, selling, advertising, marketing or promoting any Crown TV Device or comparable system that makes any infringing Crown TV Apps, any retransmission services or Plaintiffs’ copyrighted programming available to users of that device or comparable system, among other requirements. | |
Amit Bhalla Bankruptcy (Retailer) Court: Bank. M.D. Fla. Filed: 8/18/17 |
$ 4,440,000 | Bhalla and his affiliates were permanently enjoined from distributing, selling, advertising, marketing, or promoting any Tvpad Device; transmitting, retransmitting, assisting in the transmission of, requesting transmisison of, streaming, hosting, or providing unauthorized access to or otherwise publicly performing, Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Programming, among otehr requirements. |
072 – Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction 073 – Memorandum and Order Awarding 4.4M to Plaintiffs – no discharge |
ZemTV / Durrani (Distributor) and Lackman (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 5/30/17 |
$ 650,000 | Defendant Durrani and his affiliates were permanently enjoined from copying by any means of any device or process the Protected Channels or any of the programming that comprises the Protected Channels; retransmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing in the US.., by means of ZemTV or add-ons or services, the Protected Channels or the programming that comprises the Protected Channels, among other requirements. |
048 – Stipulation of Voluntary Dismissal – Lackman |
UlaiTV (Provider) and Fraifer (Principal) Court: M.D. Fla. Filed: 3/15/17 |
$ 1,300,000.00 | Fraifer, his companies, their agents and others acting or participating with any of them were prohibited from publicly performing in the United States any works that air on certain Arabic-language channels. | |
Lool (Provider) Court: S.D. Tex. Filed: 6/20/16 |
$ 1,050,000 | Defendants and their officers, agents, employees, etc. were enjoined from copying the IBCAP member channels or any programming that comprises the subject channels; retransmitting, streaming, distributing, or publicly performing in the U.S., by means of the Loolbox service, or any device, the subject channels, among other requirements. | |
h.TV (Provider) Court: E.D.N.Y. Filed: 3/25/16 |
$ 46,140,000 | Defendant HTV International Limited and its officers, agents, and employees were permanently enjoined from publicly performing, publicly displaying, transmitting, distributing, and/or reproducing CCTV and/or TVB television programming, including Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Programming; inducing, encouraging, causing, facilitating, and/or materially contributing to the unauthorized public performance, public display, transmission, distribution, and/or reproduction by others of CCTV and/or TVB television programming, including Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Programing, among other requirements. | |
Buy-Rite (Commercial Public Performance) Court: S.D.N.Y. Filed: 12/4/15 |
$ 200,000 | Defendants and their affiliates were permanently enjoined from transmitting, retransmitting, assisting in the transmission of, requesting transmission of, streaming, hosting or providing unauthorized access to, or otherwise publicly performing by means of any device or process in violation of U.S. copyright law, including but not limited to any TVpad Device or comparable system, Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Programming, without direct or indicrect authorization of the plaintiff that owns or controls that programming, advertising or promoting access to or availability of Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Programming, encouraging or soliciting others to transmit or reporduce Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Programming, among other requirements. | |
Shava IPTV and Cres IPTV (Provider) Court: E.D. Va. Filed: 6/5/15 |
$ 25,775,000 | Defendants Imran Butt and Naeem Butt were permanently enjoined from further infringing on Plaintiffs’ exclusive rights in their copyrights and trademarks. |
102 – Permanent Injunction Against Nadeem and Shava IPTV Network |
TVpad (Provider) Court: C.D. Cal. Filed: 3/13/15 |
$ 69,566,000 | Defendants and their affiliates were permanently enjoined from transmitting, retransmitting, assisting in the transmission of, requesting transmission of, streaming, hosting or providing unauthorized access to, or otherwise publicly performing by means of any device or process, the Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Programming, among other requirements. |
107 – Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction – newTVpad and Lianzhong Zhou 175 – Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction – Hugo Chen 182 – Consent Judgment and Permanent Injunction – Bennett Wong and Club TVpad 198 – Amended Order – Final Judgment 207 – Default Judgment and Injunction Against Asha Media Group |