Three people involved in selling “dodgy boxes” – which are used to illegally access TV streaming services – have been found liable by the High Court to pay possibly hundreds of thousands of euro which Sky says it has lost from their activities.
Mr Justice Liam Kennedy granted judgment, in two separate cases, against the three to Sky UK Ltd which provides TV services in the UK and Ireland.
The three, who failed to appear in court, are Andrew Keena of Mariner’s Court, Blackrock, Co Louth, and Stephen McBride and Carol Thornton, both of Defenders Row, Dundalk, Co Louth.
The judge also granted permanent injunctions that they cease all copyright-infringing activities and not to continue to make the material available on their infringing services.
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They are also prohibited from taking, directly or indirectly, steps to transfer or give away any source code or other technology related to their infringing services and to cease all advertising of the services.
The court will assess damages at a future date.
An investigator employed by Sky Subscriber Services Ltd said in affidavits that the estimated annual loss from Mr Keena’s activities was conservatively put at €643,860 based on Sky’s average revenue per month of €73 per customer. Mr Keena is estimated to have had 735 customers paying an entity called “Interstellar Media” €95 per year, bringing in €69,825.
The number of customers was based on members of a Facebook group set up for the purpose of providing information about the use of Interstellar Media. However, the investigator said in one Facebook post, in June 2021 during the UEFA Euro football tournament, it was stated there were “over 4,856 customers”.
Interstellar Media was notable among infringers in that it used its own branded application to provide its services via downloads for internet protocol TV (IPTV) firesticks, computers and other devices, the investigator said. Most IPTV service providers use generic applications to stream their services.
Mr McBride and Ms Thornton charged a “competitive” €70 per year for their service, the investigator said. Infringing IPTV subscriptions regularly sell for €100 plus per year, he added.
In the McBride/Thornton case, the investigator estimated an annual loss to Sky of €876,000. Mr McBride boasted of selling to more than 1,000, which meant a revenue for them of more than €70,000.
The McBride/Thornton service involved customers downloading an application called “Dreambox Android XMBC” to an Amazon Firestick which provided Sky Entertainment, Sky Sports and Sky Cinema, among other channels.
Mr McBride also sent an instructional video to customers on how to install and use the service.
All three defendants advertised through Facebook while the McBride/Thornton service was also on Instagram using slogans like “Sick of paying ridiculous Sky bills” and “No more stupid Sky bills”.
When “cease and desist” letters were sent by Sky’s lawyers to all three, Mr Keena said Interstellar Media was no longer in operation since around November 2021.
He also claimed that his PayPal account, which received payments for Interstellar Media, had been used without his knowledge by a third party. He refused to name the third party.
The investigator said Mr Keena also has an apparent connection with another infringing IPTV service called Showbiz Media and this means his infringing activities are not just limited to Interstellar Media.
Interstellar was a very sophisticated service operating at scale and Mr Keena had been “very evasive and dishonest in his limited engagements” with Sky, he said.
When Mr McBride received a cease and desist letter, he replied in April 2022 saying “Excuse me?. Is this spam or a joke?”
The investigator said, at his request, Mr McBride’s Facebook profile was removed. But he created two new profiles, one in his own name and other called “Firesticks Dundalk”.
[ The Irish Times view on dodgy boxes: enforce the lawOpens in new window ]
In and around mid-2023, when Sky first commence legal proceedings against him and Ms Thornton, the infringing services ceased.
The defendants, who have not otherwise engaged with the proceedings against them, will have an opportunity to turn up in court when the assessment of damages is being carried out.
