Netflix, Amazon, Major Studios Bring Piracy Lawsuit on Set TV
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE)—a group of Hollywood studios that includes Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, Disney, and others—has opened a lawsuit in California district court against Set Broadcast, otherwise known as Set TV. The studios charge that Set TV, which offers a $20 per month subscription plan that provides 500 streaming channels, is engaged in piracy. Set TV also sells a hardware box, the $89 ST-110, which is loaded with the necessary software for streaming.
"Whether their customers choose a subscription or a preloaded box, what Defendants actually sell is illegal access to Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Works. When used as Defendants intend and instruct, Setvnow gives Defendants’ customers access to sources that stream Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Works without authorization. These streams are illegal public performances of Plaintiffs’ Copyrighted Works," the lawsuit says.
Set TV is based in Florida, and the lawsuit names company owner Jason Labbosiere and employee Nelson Johnson as plaintiffs. So far, the defendants haven't responded. The Set TV site appears to be legitimate, and many of its customers might not know they're promoting piracy.
ACE members have previously opened piracy lawsuits against TickBox TV and Dragonbox. The TickBox suit ended in February 2018, when a judge ruled the device maker had to remove piracy software from its hardware, but could keep selling the devices themselves.
In the current suit, ACE is asking that Set TV be shut down and all pre-loaded hardware devices be impounded. It's also requesting $150,000 in damages for each infringed title.
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