Restraining Order for Pirate Cable Operator in the Philippines

MANILA, June 26: The
Philippines’ Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has served its first-ever
temporary restraining order against a local cable operator for copyright
infringement.

According to the Cable
& Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), the order was served
against Turtle Cable. The platform has been ordered to cease broadcasting
channels without their authorization. The restraining order was the result of a
series of complaints filed by CASBAA on behalf of channels whose signals were
being stolen by the platform. Further arguments on the case will be heard in
the coming weeks before a final injunction will be considered. At the end of
the process, if the IPO issues an injunction and Turtle continues to
rebroadcast unauthorized channels, the National Telecommunications Commission
(NTC) will be asked to revoke the platform’s operating license.

“This is the first time we
have brought a cable piracy case to the IPO, and we are pleased that the IPO
administrative judge has recognized the validity of the TV industry’s concerns
about protecting our intellectual property,” said Simon Twiston Davies, CASBAA’s CEO. “This is an important test case.”

“Cable piracy remains
rampant in the Philippines, and the government is beginning to recognize how
damaging this is for the entire legitimate industry,” added Timothy Bautista,
the COO of the Filipino pay-TV service Cable Boss. “We are pleased to see this
first sign of concrete action."

Cable piracy is a
significant problem in the Philippines, where for every one home with a
legitimate subscription, at least one, and perhaps more, accesses a pirated
feed. CASBAA estimates this cost the industry $85 million in lost revenues. “It
also deprived the Philippine government of $38 million in tax payments that
could have contributed to its development programs,” said Twiston Davies.

In related news, CASBAA is
continuing its lobby efforts with the local courts, urging them to move forward
on the pending criminal case against the platform Maguindanao Skycable and its
officers.

—By Mansha Daswani