Fox, Premier League launch copyright infringement case in Singapore

[Len]

Fox and the English Premier League have joined telcos Singtel and StarHub in a private prosecution case against two Android set-top box sellers in Singapore for allegedly ‘wilfully infringing’ copyright.

Singapore distributor Synnex Trading and retailer An-Nahl, along with their respective directors Jia Xiaofeng and Abdul Nagib Abdul Aziz, have been charged under Section 136 (3A) of the Copyright Act.

One of the charges relates to the possession in May 2017 of 104 illicit streaming devices, which were allegedly ‘designed’ or ‘adapted’ for making copies of copyrighted content.

In addition, the defendants are accused of helping customers make ‘unauthorised copies’ of content in May, August and September 2017. The content included Premier League football matches, as well as programmes carried on channels Star Sports, Astro, TVB and National Geographic, reports Today Online.

In a joint statement Starhub, SingTel, Fox Networks Group and Premier League said the broadcasting industry would continue to take ‘concerted and decisive action’ against content piracy through public education as well as via legal channels to uphold intellectual property rights.

“The alarming proliferation of piracy and illicit streaming devices that are used to view copyright-protected content hurts both consumers and producers. Piracy makes it untenable for producers to keep on creating content for the public's enjoyment and Singapore cannot effectively encourage innovation when intellectual property rights are constantly trampled on,” they added.

Baker McKenzie Wong and Leow’s Andy Leck and Jim Ren Jun are leading the private prosecution, which marks the first time the sale of the video streaming devices pre-loaded with piracy enabling applications has been challenged in a Singapore court.

Singaporeans are among the highest consumers of pirated online content in the world, according to a report released by Sycamore in September 2017. Researchers found that almost half the population admit to having engaged in online piracy, with 39% stating they currently illegally stream or download movies, TV shows or live sports channels.