Hundreds of suspected users of so-called dodgy boxes around the country have received letters from Sky warning them they could face legal action unless they give and respect a written commitment to never stream content illegally again.
The vast majority of those who have been sent letters live in Wexford but people living in 18 other counties, including Cork, Dublin, Galway, Wicklow and Limerick, have also been contacted and given two weeks to comply.
“Sky can confirm it has issued a first wave of cease-and-desist letters to around 200 individuals who paid for an unlawful subscription to the illegal IPTV Is Easy service,” a spokesman told The Irish Times.
“Where an individual does not engage with us following receipt of this letter, Sky is prepared to pursue legal action,” he warned. “This may include seeking an injunction, damages arising from the infringement and recovery of legal costs.”
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In the letter sent out Sky says “it believes [the recipients] have purchased a subscription providing access to an app and/or streaming device (such as modified Amazon Fire TV Sticks or similar) that allows people to watch Sky channels (and others) without having a Sky subscription. This is illegal as Sky owns the legal rights to the Sky channels.”
It stresses that the correspondence should be considered a “legal letter” and calls on recipients “to stop using illegal IPTV services and to turn off your access to any such services immediately”.
The letter says Sky “is willing to resolve the matter by providing you with two weeks to sign undertakings promising to immediately stop and not to do it again. If you do not return the signed undertakings within two weeks, Sky can issue legal proceedings against you.”
It warns those it is targeting that if they sign the undertaking and subsequently “break the promise, there are legal consequences so they should be taken seriously and not be given lightly. If you have any concerns, you should seek independent legal advice.”
People have also been warned that if they fail to respond within the set time frame, Sky will “consider this to be evidence that you are not cooperating and will consider issuing legal proceedings against you. Such a claim may include Sky seeking an injunction (an order from the court ordering you to stop using IPTV services), damages for the loss and damage caused by your infringing activities and legal costs.”
The ramping-up of the pressure on people who stream copyrighted content comes just weeks after a successful High Court action taken by Sky relating to the “IPTV Is Easy” internet protocol television (IPTV) service.
That case saw Revolut ordered by the court to provide information about end users who had paid for an illegal IPTV subscription using their platform.
While Sky said the initial letters were designed to give dodgy-box users the opportunity to avoid further legal action by agreeing to never again pirate its content, it stressed it would be fully prepared to take further legal action against those who did not engage.
Sky is not the only content provider involved in the current action. Other streaming services including Clubber TV, which provides GAA content, LOITV, which sells League of Ireland games to subscribers, GAA+ and Premier Sports were also illegally made available as part of the IPTV Is Easy service.
Sky said those rights-holders “fully support our enforcement action”.
The company said illegal streaming was not a victimless crime, saying it damaged jobs, drained investment from the Irish creative industries and placed viewers at risk while funding criminal enterprises.
