First 200 dodgy-box owners targeted by Sky legal letters | Irish Independent
Flor Lynch
First 200 dodgy-box owners targeted by Sky legal letters
Warning states that failure to sign the settlement could mean Sky treat the matter as unresolved, potentially issuing a legal claim for breach of copyright
The letters, sent to users mostly in Co Wexford, ask them to sign a settlement within 14 days, including an undertaking to “never again subscribe to an illegal IPTV service”.
The letters, seen by the Irish Independent, warn that other rival sports broadcasters, including Clubber TV, LOITV, GAA+ and Premier Sports, have backed Sky’s actions and that users could face “firm action” from these rival media operators if they failed to comply.
The warning also stated that failure to sign the settlement could mean Sky treating the matter as unresolved, potentially issuing a legal claim for breach of copyright.
“By signing the document, you are making a legally binding promise that you will stop all involvement with IPTV and never use an IPTV service again,” the letter said.
“If you sign the document and keep this promise going forwards, Sky will consider the matter resolved.”
Where an individual does not engage with us following receipt of this letter, Sky is prepared to pursue legal action
A Sky spokesman confirmed it had issued “a first wave of cease-and-desist letters” to people who paid for an unlawful subscription to the illegal “IPTV is Easy” service.
Sky obtained the names and addresses of 304 dodgy-box subscribers to the service in March, following a civil prosecution of David Dunbar, with an address at Manor Crescent, Roxborough Manor, Co Wexford, who operated it.
“Where an individual does not engage with us following receipt of this letter, Sky is prepared to pursue legal action,” the spokesperson said. “This may include seeking an injunction, damages arising from the infringement and recovery of legal costs.”
Twelve resellers and 304 customers used Revolut to pay for the IPTV is Easy service. The High Court granted an order for Revolut to provide details of all 304 subscribers, as well as 10 resellers.
The letter from Sky asks the dodgy-box users to agree to “never again infringe Sky’s copyright” and to pay the correct subscription fee to the media giant when watching its channels or content moving forward.
It said users must immediately and permanently disable all illegal means of streaming copyrighted content owned or controlled by Sky.
If users breached the “undertakings” listed in the letter, they were asked to recognise that Sky could be entitled to seek damages for the full amount of any infringement.
Sky said it would keep a record of the names and addresses of those contacted for as long as necessary to enforce its intellectual property rights.
The media giant threatened to bring legal proceedings against these people if it became aware they had again become involved with dodgy boxes, breaching the undertaking in the settlement letter.
The letter named other Irish media copyright owners, Clubber TV, LOITV, GAA+ and Premier Sports, as among those aware that the illegal IPTV service purchased by the individuals had been “infringing their copyrighted content too”.
Failure to conform could leave these dodgy-box users facing further action from other media firms, the letter warned.
Sky said it would resolve the matter without escalating to court proceedings if the dodgy-box users followed the steps and complied with the undertakings, including signing and returning the letter to the company by email or post.
Jimmy Doyle, CEO of Clubber, said he agreed to have the GAA club match streaming service’s name in the legal letters.
Mediahuis Ireland, publisher of the Irish Independent, owns shares in Clubber. “Piracy is a big threat to our business and the livelihoods of all the people connected with the Clubber TV business,” Mr Doyle said.
A spokesman for LOITV, which shows League of Ireland football matches, said illegal streaming continued to be a “significant challenge” to its development.
“We are working collaboratively with our partners in Premier Sports, as well as Sky TV and other sports subscription services to protect our live content from showing on illegal streaming sites,” he said.
Sky has previously launched several civil prosecutions, obtaining hundreds of thousands of euro in damages against sellers and distributors of dodgy boxes.
Illegal dodgy boxes have soared in popularity across Ireland. It has been estimated that such devices are in around 400,000 Irish households.
A typical dodgy-box fee cost about €10 a month, promising pirated access to content that could otherwise cost over €100 a month.
Earlier this year, research from the telecoms regulator showed that the number of people paying for Sky, Virgin Media and other traditional pay-TV services had fallen from 70pc to 57pc over the last three years.
A recent survey of 1,300 people conducted by the League of Ireland podcast Between the Stripes found that 47pc of football fans watch games on dodgy boxes.