Another judgement upholds Roku ban

[Len]

Company says the order violates its legal rights and NAFTA.

A Mexico City court has upheld a ban on the sale and distribution of Roku digital media players, meaning that any retailers still stocking the items will have to remove them from their shelves and online marketplaces.

Roku challenged a June 29 ruling that reinstated the original decision to stop the sale of the set-top boxes after it had earlier won an appeal to suspend the court order.

However, this time the judge refused to grant the definitive suspension sought by the California-based company.

Some retailers had continued to sell the device in defiance of the court order but this latest ruling extends to all retailers including Palacio de Hierro, Amazon, Best Buy and Liverpool.

Pay television company Cablevisión —a subsidiary of media conglomerate Televisa — initiated legal action against Roku because it claimed that the devices were being hacked so that content to which it had exclusive rights was being stolen.

The company claims that hackers have been offering illegal access to their content by offering television packages via websites and WhatsApp messages.

Some of the channels offered are HBO, Fox, Cartoon Network and Playboy TV.

Despite the latest ruling, Roku seems likely to continue to explore legal avenues to be able to continue to have a presence in the Mexican market, releasing a statement in which it made its position clear.

“At Roku we consider that the Mexico City Civil Court order that is currently limiting the sale of our devices to Mexican consumers is a clear violation of Roku’s legal rights provided for in the constitution and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).”

It also seemed to thumb its nose at the verdict by saying that “Roku devices can still legally be sold in some stores in Mexico [and] the use of Roku products has been and will continue to be legal in Mexico.”

In any case, it is implausible that banning Roku products will put an end to the hacking, piracy and theft of media content, another point made clear by the company in its press release.

“Prohibiting the sale of Roku devices will not stop this activity from spreading through [other] devices connected to the internet.”