ABS-CBN sues 40 pirate sites for $40M U.S. federal court

SAN FRANCISCO – Global Filipino media and entertainment company ABS-CBN filed a $40-million lawsuit against 40 domains pirating ABS-CBN’s content and infringing its copyrights and trademarks.

The lawsuit, ABS-CBN v. 123Fullpinoymovieshub.com, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the Federal District Court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida.

The Court recently issued a preliminary injunction against these 40 pirate domains to take down the domains with a serving notice.

The lawsuit comes as news reports show piracy has made a comeback during the COVID-19 pandemic.  According to a report by TVtechnology.com on how media companies are dealing with piracy in the age of COVID, lockdowns resulted into more breaches of streaming security as a result of higher demand. Criminals were isolating at home as well and likely had more time and inclination to devote to nefarious activities.

“Beware of pirate domains, especially clicking on them.  They usually contain malware which can substantially infect your computer,” said Elisha Lawrence, Assistant Vice President & Head of Global Anti-Piracy.  She continues, “Watch our content on safe legitimate services such as ABS-CBN’s OTT platform iWantTFC and the TFC channel on all major cable and satellite providers.”

“We see it as our job to protect the consumer from the dangers that pirated content brings and, at the same time, provide quality content for their enjoyment,” said ABS-CBN Managing Director of North and Latin America Jun Del Rosario.

ABS-CBN is represented by Stephen M. Gaffigan and Christine Daley of the Law Offices of Stephen M. Gaffigan, Pennsylvania.