ABS-CBN suing Texas resident, company for piracy

Media giant ABS-CBN Corp. filed a complaint in the United States against a Texas resident and 1700 Cuts Technology for allegedly pirating the TV network’s content.

ABS-CBN said in a statement it was seeking $4 million in damages from Anthony Brown and 1700 Cuts, seller of internet TV streaming devices. The complaint was filed in the US Federal Court in the Southern District of Texas.

The firm alleged that Brown and 1700 Cuts Technology promoted and sold modified illegal set-top boxes using Facebook. The devices enable users to access ABS-CBN’s live programming without paying the appropriate fees.

The Facebook pages used to promote the illegal set-top boxes included two personal profile pages and a business page for “Lifeforgreatness.”

“Beware of these operations that are not licensed or affiliated in any way with ABS-CBN,” ABS-CBN assistant vice president and head of global antipiracy Elisha Lawrence said in a statement.“The only genuine ABS-CBN internet subscription services are TFC on cable and satellite, IPTV and TFC.tv,” she added.

“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,” said Jun del Rosario, ABS-CBN managing director for North and Latin America. INQ