Hosting pirate IPTV websites is expensive: this company paid 3 million to avoid being taken to court
When deciding who is to blame for a pirate IPTV service operate, many point to hosting and network services companies that not only provide the platform for hackers to expose their illegal services, but are usually not particularly diligent in shutting them down.
Now we know what the price was for an English company that provided service to 11 of these pirate IPTV services: 3 million dollars. Luckily for them, they are saved from paying the 32.5 million that were requested in the lawsuit filed.
They requested a fine of 32.5 million
A DISH Network copyright infringement lawsuit filed in February 2022 sought $32.5 million (€30.2 million) in damages from UK-based CDN company DataCamp for giving hosting services related to pirated IPTV.
This content delivery network (CDN) company was reported by the company that owns the violated copyright for not taking the necessary measures to act against 11 pirate IPTV services. DISH claimed in its lawsuit that these customers were repeat offenders after sending over 400 DMCA copyright notices to DataCamp.
We can consider that seeing the final result of this performance, the hosting company may be having a hard time, since they finally reached a agreement worth 3 million dollars (2.80 million euros).
In many respects, the lawsuit was no different from others that have sought to establish blocks by ISPs and against various intermediaries in recent years. The accusations that DataCamp did not act appropriately under a reasonable “repeat infringement” policy, for example, is a hallmark of these potentially ruinous lawsuits that do not end up achieving what was initially hoped for.
3 million for not punishing pirated IPTV
A statement issued today by anti-piracy group IBCAP, of which DISH is a member, and a separate statement from DataCamp, set the stage for the same story and subsequent settlement to be told from two different perspectives.
“On February 2, 2024, DISH Network LLC, a member of IBCAP, received a settlement payment of $3,000,000, resolving its lawsuit against Datacamp Limited, a UK-based company that provides delivery network services. global content platform (CDN) under the name CDN77 and dedicated servers and network services under the name Datapacket. The settlement agreement follows substantial discovery and briefing on Datacamp’s motion to dismiss, which the court dismissed on July 14, 2023, rejecting Datacamp’s argument that the lawsuit should be dismissed because Datacamp could not be liable of infringement by its clients”reads the IBCAP statement.
On DataCamp’s part, they emphasize that there has been “persistent compliance” by the company with the requirements of the DMCA. “Despite our persistent compliance with DMCA procedures, DISH Network made unsubstantiated claims suggesting that we had not diligently monitored alleged copyright infringements by some of our customers. We firmly believe that Facts Alleged in DISH Network Complaints Are False. Throughout the legal process we vehemently denied every claim and even filed Counterclaims against DISH Network due to its failure to comply with the DMCA process. Despite the difficulty of this decision, we believe that the decision to settle is in the best interest of our company and our clients. We remain unwavering in our commitment to the highest ethical standards and DMCA compliance.”. Do you then pay 3 million in case the pressures end up making it cost 32.5 million?