IN a landmark decision today, the Intellectual Property High Court in Kuala Lumpur declared that the sale, offer for sale, distribution and/or supply of TV Boxes or illicit streaming devices (ISDs) that can provide unauthorised access to copyrighted works constitutes copyright infringement under the Copyright Act 1987.
The action in the Intellectual Property High Court was brought by Measat Broadcast Networks Sdn Bhd, the service provider for Astro Malaysia, against a seller of ISDs preloaded with applications which act as gateways to websites or content servers streaming pirated content.
The historic judgment – presumably the first by the Intellectual Property High Court – is positively received by the authorities and industry players in their battle against digital piracy.
“The ground-breaking declaration by the High Court that sale of ISD which allows access to unauthorised copyright content amounts to copyright infringement sets a precedent for future civil claims on copyright infringement against ISD sellers in the market, including those on e-commerce platforms,” commented Astro’s regulatory director Laila Saat.
Today’s declaration by the High Court follows recent criminal cases successfully brought against ISD retailers.
The estimated loss to the industry and Malaysian economy due to piracy is over RM3 bil annually with RM500 mil in taxes and thousands of jobs at risk.
On Feb 8, a company director of an IT company was charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court under Section 41 (1) (ha) of the Copyright Act 1987 with promoting Long TV Android boxes which allow the bypassing of technological protection measures on copyright broadcast work.
On Feb 16, a woman director of a mobile accessory company pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing TV media boxes that contains software to illegally stream Astro’s content via the internet.
She was fined RM30,000 under Section 232(2) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998, making her the first ISD seller to be charged under this provision.
The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) has reiterated that it will take stern action against suppliers and sellers who misuse devices and software to illegally access content protected by their copyright work owners.
The public can channel information of piracy activities to the ministry through the hotline 1-800-886-800 or 03-8882 6088 at the Enforcement Command Centre or WhatsApp 019-279 4317. – May 24, 2021
