The huge financial penalties facing those who supply illegal streaming links via websites or IPTV has been laid bare in a brand new court case.
IPTV (Internet Protocol television) is regularly used by those who don't want to pay to watch the latest films or TV shows. And it's an illicit industry that's only going to boom, according to the experts.
But those who run the media industry are fighting back. In fact, they're teaming up in a court case that is starting to resemble the streaming service industry's equivalent of the Avengers.
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Netflix, Amazon and Disney are among eight media companies all filing a new court case against IPTV services, demanding it goes it trial.
They want what they are owed. Or rather, what they could have earned if illegal streams hadn't existed and those watching them had instead paid for a cinema ticket or a monthly subscription pass.
Amazon Content Services LLC; Disney Enterprises Inc; Netflix Worldwide Entertainment LLC; Columbia Pictures Industries Inc; Paramount Pictures Corp; Sony Pictures Animation Inc; Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc; and Universal City Studios Productions LLLP are the eight behemoths behind the case.
Details of the court case have now been filed, in which documents state exactly how much money each of the eight media firms is entitled to if their case is proven at jury.
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The court documents say that subscription packages to nine IPTV services were offered between $20 a month right up to $150 a year. And this gave users access to a huge library of goods.
It has been reported that some 11,000 illegal channels were available on the services, alongside 27,000 films and more than 9,000 television shows.
But the profits made from such a library would fade away in comparison to exactly how much could be claimed by those who own the copyright of the goods.
Under US law, which is where the court case has been filed, there are statutory rights when it comes to copyright infringement.
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And those rights are very generous to those who own the copyright.
The law states that each copyright holder could be awarded a cool $150,000 (£118,732) if the infringement was committed wilfully.
And that's not the total amount. No, that's for every single piece of work whose copyright has been infringed.
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Given tens of thousands of copyrighted property has allegedly been leaked in the case brought forward by Netflix, Disney+ and friends, the case could have statutory penalties in the billions.
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Taking in to account just the 27,000 movies and 9,000 shows, a staggering $5.4 billion (£4.27 billion) could be the fine for those running the IPTV services.
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock ImagesTopics: Film, TV, TV and Film, UK News, US News, World News, Netflix, Disney, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Crime