ABS-CBN piracy crackdown continues with Canada suit

[bsaambl]

MANILA - ABS-CBN Corp said Tuesday it filed a $5-million lawsuit against a startup accused of selling pirated set-top boxes in Canada.
According to a claim filed before the Canadian Federal Court, ABS -CBN said TechSpeed Canada Inc could be held liable for copyright infringement.
Two men from the startup, Joe Baddas and Todd Ross, were seen on Facebook teaching "recruits" how to sell the pirated set-top boxes, ABS-CBN said in a statement. A third alleged accomplice was identified as Ferdinand Molina.

The trio allegedly registered 78 emails and distributed usernames and passwords to "hundreds" of customers, said ABS-CBN assistant vice president and head of global anti-piracy, Elisha Lawrence.

Lawrence urged consumers to beware of operations that are not licensed or affiliated, in any way, with ABS-CBN.
"There is only one genuine ABS-CBN internet subscription service and that is TFC.tv," Lawrence said.
Lawrence said interested subscribers should call 1-855-832-2632 or go to the website TFC.tv.
ABS-CBN Canada country manager Jun Del Rosario urged the Filipino community in Canada to be on the lookout for those who seek to undermine intellectual property rights.

“These are pirates doing criminal activities. They will be caught. Their customers will end up losing their illegal subscriptions. So, you don’t want to fall victim to that scheme,” Del Rosario said.

David Lipkus, counsel for ABS-CBN in Canada, said the company would take all steps to control access to its content. 
“ABS-CBN invests tremendous resources into its high-quality, original content, and will continue to ensure that Canadians have access to legitimate ABS-CBN content directly from ABS-CBN,” Lipkus said.