ABS-CBN files $4 million infringement lawsuit

MANILA, Philippines — Broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corp. has filed a complaint in the US Federal Court against a certain Anthony Brown and 1700 Cuts Technology for trademark infringement and alleged pirating of the network’s content.

ABS-CBN, in a statement, yesterday said it is seeking damages in excess of $4 million.

The lawsuit claims that Brown, a Texas local resident, promoted and sold modified illegal set-top boxes via various Facebook pages, enabling buyers to access ABS-CBN’s live programming without paying the appropriate fees.

ABS-CBN said the Facebook pages operated by Brown and 1700 Cuts Technology  included two personal profile pages and a business page for “Lifeforgreatness”.

ABS-CBN AVP and head of Global Anti-Piracy Elisha Lawrence warned that the said operations are not licensed or affiliated in any way with ABS-CBN.

“We will continue to protect customers by shutting these operations down. The only genuine ABS-CBN internet subscription services are TFC on cable and satellite, IPTV and TFC.tv,” Lawrence said.

ABS-CBN managing director for North and Latin America Jun Del Rosario said the company remains steadfast in protecting the content from the network’s team who need to be rightfully acknowledged and compensated for their work.

“What these pirates do is literally rob from this ecosystem of content creators, pretend to own the content, and scam customers by making money off that content. ABS-CBN is committed to stopping them and bringing them to justice,” Del Rosario said.

In April this year, ABS-CBN won an anti-piracy case in the US after the US federal district court in Florida ordered 27 pirate site operators to pay $1 million each in damages to the Filipino company.

The said sites were found streaming portals that offer access to Filipino content in the US and abroad.