Bell, Rogers, and Quebecor seek larger damages from set-top box seller

BCE Inc., Rogers Communications Inc., and Quebecor Inc. have turned to the Federal Court of Appeal to try and get a greater payout in damages from a seller of preloaded set-top boxes. In an Oct. 1 filing with the court -- not served to the defendant until Tuesday -- the trio of broadcasters ask the Federal Court of Appeal to set aside the September ruling, which fined Eric Adwokat $40,000 after a 2019 decision found him in contempt of a 2016 interlocutory injunction alongside his company Red Rhino Entertainment Inc. The broadcasters are asking the appeals court to increase the fine to $240,000 payable in $60,000 installments. The three broadcasters had successfully won an injunction against a number of different companies, some five years ago, requiring them to stop selling the boxes which allow users to access pirated TV services. The companies had initially asked for a $200,000 fine and costs of $400,000, in addition to jail time for Adwokat, but the judge in the case, Justice John Norris, only levied a fine of $40,000. According to the broadcasters appeal, Adwokat's Red Rhino never stopped selling the preloaded set-top boxes online after the court injunction, as well as at some 30 different public events identified by the appellants. The broadcasters argue that Norris "failed to take into account the importance of general deterrence in the very specific context of the copyright piracy ecosystem in which Mr. Adwokat and Red Rhino conducted their activities." The "sentence reflects a misapprehension of the prominence and involvement of Mr. Adwokat in this ecosystem. One that is filled with individuals who blatantly ignore and violate court orders, most notably because they derive enormous monetary benefit from their illicit activities," the broadcasters argue. They add that in setting the fine at $40,000, Norris "grossly understated the magnitude of the damage caused to the appellants." Norris "overlooked the tremendous financial gains made by Mr. Adwokat and Red Rhino, including the appellants’ entitlement to statutory damages" and that he "neglected to consider that as a result of the bankruptcy proceedings filed by Mr. Adwokat and Red Rhino, the appellants will not be able to recover any of the damages caused or profits made by Mr. Adwokat and Red Rhino and that there will be no discovery process." -- Reporting by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

Bell, Rogers, and Quebecor seek larger damages from set-top box seller

Broadcast | October 27, 2021

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Bell, Rogers, and Quebecor seek larger damages from set-top box seller

Broadcast | October 27, 2021

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