Pirate IPTV Operator Settles DISH Lawsuit for Over $44M

DISH Network and Sling TV have secured a major settlement against an IPTV operator accused of pirating their content.

Richard Moy, who ran an IPTV operation serving hundreds of thousands of users, agreed to pay $44.5 million after running out of money to fight the case in court.

Massive IPTV Operation Exposed

The lawsuit filed in November 2024 targeted Moy and his company CLVPN LLC, which operated under the name City Lights Entertainment.

Court documents revealed that Moy allegedly accessed DISH and Sling TV servers illegally, then redistributed their channels through his own service.

What made this case stand out was the scale. DISH and Sling claimed Moy’s network reached more than 450,000 users. The companies reportedly gained direct access to his IPTV management panel, giving them hard evidence of his subscriber base.

According to the complaint, Moy sold subscriptions both directly to customers and in bulk to a network of over 500 resellers.

With subscriptions priced at just $5 per month for resellers, the potential revenue was staggering. Estimates suggested $2.25 million monthly or $27 million annually.

Unusual Legal Claims

The plaintiffs didn’t just stick to copyright violations. They also cited the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for circumventing technical protections.

More unusual was their inclusion of Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) violations, which deals with intercepting real-time transmissions.

The lawsuit claimed Moy posed as a Chicago-area law enforcement officer when dealing with customers, allegedly trying to ease concerns about the service’s legality.

Case Collapses After Attorney Withdraws

Things took a turn in August when Moy’s attorney filed a motion to withdraw from the case. The reason? Moy no longer had the financial resources to pay for legal representation. The attorney noted they were still owed money for work already completed.

Moy attempted to get court-appointed representation, but District Judge Edmond E. Chang denied the request. The judge stated that someone with a high school education could handle the defense adequately given the straightforward nature of the allegations.

Final Thoughts

Rather than face DISH and Sling TV alone in court, Moy agreed to settle. The parties filed a joint motion requesting a final judgment of $44.5 million in statutory damages along with a permanent injunction preventing him from operating any similar service in the future.

The settlement amount was described as “conservative” based on damages calculations from previous DISH and Sling TV cases.

For more details on this story, refer to the official court documentation (PDF) and the report from TorrentFreak.

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