Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 21) — ABS-CBN has sued 40 websites in the United States for content piracy, and copyright and trademark infringement, it announced Wednesday.
The media giant said in a statement that the $40-million (around ₱1.93 billion) lawsuit, entitled ABS-CBN v. 123Fullpinoymovieshub.com, has been filed before the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida against 40 websites for allegedly “pirating ABS-CBN’s content and infringing its copyrights and trademarks.”
The court had recently issued a preliminary injunction against the websites to take down their domains with a serving notice, said ABS-CBN, who is represented by Stephen Gaffigan and Christine Daley of law firm Stephen M. Gaffigan, PA.
The company likewise flagged the “comeback” of piracy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with streaming security breaches resulting from higher demand as more people are staying at home. This also allowed criminals “more time and inclination to devote to nefarious activities,” noted ABS-CBN.
ABS-CBN assistant vice president for global anti-piracy Elisha Lawrence cautioned the public against pirate domains, saying these usually contain malware that may infect one’s computer.
“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,” she added.
Meanwhile, ABS-CBN managing director for North and Latin America Jun Del Rosario emphasized the company’s objective to protect consumers “from the dangers that pirated content brings” while providing quality entertainment.
