ABS-CBN files lawsuit against pirate domains

ABS-CBN Corp. has filed for a $40-million lawsuit against 40 pirate domains in a United States court, a company official said on Wednesday.

Elisha Lawrence, Assistant Vice President and Head of Global Anti-piracy at ABS-CBN, said her group has secured a preliminary injunction from the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida against the 40 online domains, which is allegedly pirating ABS-CBN’S content and infringing its copyrights and trademarks.

Lawrence also reminded consumers to only watch or stream content via legitimate channels, as pirated materials may pose security and safety risks.

“Beware of pirate domains, especially clicking on them. They usually contain malware which can substantially infect your computer. Watch our content on safe legitimate services such as ABSCBN’S OTT platform iwanttfc and the TFC channel on all major cable and satellite providers,” she said.

Lawrence noted that piracy has become a perennial problem as unscrupulous individuals now have more time on their hands due to the pandemic which forced almost everyone to stay at home.

ABS-CBN Managing Director of North and Latin America Jun Del Rosario said: “We see it as our job to protect the consumer from the dangers that pirated content brings and, at the same time, provide quality content for their enjoyment.”

ABS-CBN, one of the largest multimedia conglomerates in the Philippines, produces hundreds of shows per year and streams it various digital platforms.