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ABS-CBN filed a $40-million lawsuit against 40 pirate domains that had illegally streamed content from the Filipino media giant.
According to a press release from the network the lawsuit, titled “ABS-CBN Corporation, et al. vs. 123FULLPINOYMOVIESHUB.COM, et al.,” was filed on Wednesday, April 21, before the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The court earlier issued a preliminary injunction and served a notice to take down the domains.
Visiting the website or any of its alternate domains will redirect to a landing page that contains copies of the filings and orders related to the complaint filed by ABS-CBN.
“Beware of pirate domains, especially clicking on them. They usually contain malware which can substantially infect your computer,” Elisha Lawrence, Assistant Vice President & Head of Global Anti-Piracy, said in a statement.
ABS-CBN’s original content can be streamed by viewers on ABS-CBN’s OTT platform iWantTFC and the TFC channel on major cable and satellite providers.
This isn’t the first time for a Filipino media company to chase after pirates and efforts to distribute their content illegally. Producers of Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) entries had filed cases against several individuals for supposedly distributing MMFF movies illegally.
“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 in a statement.
ABS-CBN is among the biggest media companies in the Philippines, with businesses and subsidiaries involved in TV and movie production, artist management, music production, and international production and distribution, among others.
It was forced to shut down its free TV services on May 5, 2020, after Philippine legislators failed to give ABS-CBN a new franchise. In the Philippines, a media company must have a franchise from Congress to air on free TV.
ABS-CBN has since grown its other products and distribution channels after it was denied a fresh franchise by legislators. The company, however, has had to retrench thousands of its workers as a result. – Rappler.com
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