Orient Cable in Dipolog faces lawsuit for alleged piracy of ‘Avengers: Endgame’

MANILA, Philippines – Don’t spoil the endgame, but don’t pirate it either.

Orient Cable, a cable TV provider in Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte, is facing a lawsuit for allegedly pirating Avengers: Endgame, after some subscribers took a photo of the film being aired on their TV screens.

According to the Philippine News Agency (PNA), Orient Cable aired the much-awaited Marvel Studios film a day after it premiered in cinemas on April 24.

This prompted local movie house Teatro de Dapitan – which is authorized to screen the film – to complain to the local police on April 25.

“We are filing a case against Orient Cable, definitely,” Teatro de Dapitan’s lawyer Chembeelyn Alpeche-Balucan was quoted as saying in the PNA report.

Netizens slammed the cable company on Facebook, with a post from one user pointing out that the cable company violated several laws, including the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, the Anti-Camcording Act, and the Cybercrime Prevention Act.

“This stunt you’re pulling off supports PIRACY. Do you need an education about that? I don’t know much how your station works but if you’re earning from your watchtime, you’re stealing PEOPLE’S YEARS OF WORK and selling it for clout in such a bad light,” said the netizen, who identified as a multimedia student. 

Avengers: Endgame is the final installment in Marvel’s Infinity Saga, which ties together 21 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for an epic battle of good versus evil. The film follows the events of Avengers: Infinity War, which ended with half the MCU heroes being obliterated in one almighty snap as supervillain Thanos gained hold of the powerful infinity gauntlet. 

Endgame has since shattered Philippine box office records, earning over P205 million on its opening day alone. The film is currently being shown in cinemas – with some even screening it for 24 hours on opening week. – Rappler.com