Lawsuit filed against Datacamp
February 28, 2022
By Colin Mann
The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) has confirmed that a complaint has been filed in the Northern District of Illinois by member company DISH Network against Datacamp Limited, a UK-based company providing global content delivery network (CDN) services under the names CDN77 and Datapacket.
The complaint asserts claims against Datacamp for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement for allowing continued use of the Datacamp CDN by 11 pirate services. Such use directly infringes IBCAP member copyrights by transmitting nearly 40 television channels and the programmes that air on those channels over the Internet to users in the United States.
The complaint alleges that Datacamp received nearly 400 separate notices of infringement, but did little to stop the unauthorised services from continuing to use the Datacamp CDN to infringe IBCAP members’ copyrights. The complaint further alleges that Datacamp has no right to any safe harbour under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) because it has not satisfied the necessary conditions. The conditions not met include failing to designate a DMCA agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement; not acting expeditiously to remove or disable access to infringing material; and failing to implement a repeat infringer policy.
The complaint seeks statutory damages of up to $150,000 (€134,000) for the wilful infringement of 217 registered works (up to $32,550,000 total); Datacamp’s profits attributable to the infringement of thousands of unregistered works; an injunction prohibiting Datacamp from providing access to copyrighted works owned by IBCAP members; an order that Datacamp terminate the accounts associated with the 11 unauthorised services; and an order that Datacamp adopt and implement a repeat infringer policy.
“This lawsuit sends a direct message to companies who support pirate services that their lack of action and willingness to deliver infringing content over their networks will not be tolerated,” asserted Chris Kuelling, executive director of IBCAP. “Streaming pirated content typically requires the support of a CDN to transport the illicit streams to end users. CDN companies that don’t take the necessary action to remove those streams are liable for significant money damages for the harm they have caused, and they will be held accountable for ignoring notices of the infringements that occur over their networks.”
The lawsuit was coordinated by IBCAP. All evidence for the case was obtained and provided by the IBCAP lab.