GoKawiilIreland's High Court on Wednesday, March 25, granted Sky a Norwich Pharmacal order compelling Revolut Bank UAB to hand over the names, addresses, and banking details of 304 subscribers and 10 resellers connected to the now-defunct pirate IPTV service "IPTV is Easy," as TorrentFreak reports.
The ruling marks the first time in Ireland that end users of illegal streaming services face potential legal action from rightsholders, with Sky's barrister telling the court the company expects to pursue the resellers and some of the subscribers.
The order stems from Sky's investigation into David Dunbar, a Wexford man who ran "IPTV is Easy" and sold subscriptions for €80 to €100 per year. Last August, Dunbar consented to a €480,000 damages judgment and was separately fined €30,000 for contempt of court after destroying evidence and refusing to allow investigators to search his home under an Anton Piller order.
Article continues below
Much of the service's customer data was lost or destroyed, but Dunbar's Revolut statements showed he received €118,992 from resellers and €72,414 plus £9,256 from end users over roughly three and a half years. Sky identified 12 resellers and 304 subscribers who transferred money via Revolut, but the bank said it could only disclose customer information under a court order.
Sky investigator Damien Gilmore said in an affidavit that at least five of Dunbar's resellers continue to sell pirate IPTV services. With the English Premier League football season nearing its end and major golf and Formula 1 events approaching, Gilmore told the court Sky is anxious to take "decisive action" while demand for premium sports content is at its peak.
Sky's barrister, Theo Donnelly, acknowledged it wouldn’t be possible to bring cases against all 304 subscribers, but legal action against even a subset of them would be unprecedented in Ireland. Judge Brian Cregan restricted the use of the disclosed information to initiating legal proceedings against the alleged infringers.
The Irish ruling fits a growing pattern in Europe of pursuing individual IPTV subscribers. On March 20, a French public prosecutor's office fined 19 IPTV subscribers between €300 and €400 after their identities were exposed through a reseller bust. Meanwhile, Italian authorities identified thousands of subscribers following the dismantling of a pirate network last year, and rightsholders sent civil damages demands on top of criminal fines.
Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware Newsletter Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors
Under Ireland's Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000, using illegal streaming services can carry fines of up to €127,000 and up to five years' imprisonment. No Irish court has yet applied those penalties to subscribers, but the coming cases will test whether enforcement extends beyond operators. Ireland is estimated to have around 400,000 pirate IPTV users.
... continue reading