"Free TV" sellers lose court appeal to lift ban on Android Box sales
Cable TV giants have won another victory in the fight for Android TV Box sales in Canada. The Federal Court of Appeal in Montreal quickly dismissed an appeal of an injunction barring the sale of the controversial devices. Cable companies and content producers Bell, Rogers, and Quebec Vidéotron won a temporary injunction in June after launching a legal case to shut down the operations of Android Box distributors. Because the appeal was dismissed, the approximately 55 Android Box distributors involved will continue to be blocked from selling their devices while the case is pending. When downloaded with special software, Android Boxes allow users to easily stream pirated TV and movies on their TVs—all for a one-time fee, typically around $100. The devices have become the scourge of the cable TV industry, especially since they are often sold with slogans like "free tv" and "never pay your cable TV bill again!"
The defendants, WatchNSaveNow in Mississauga, Ontario, and MTLFreeTV in Montreal, had the provision banning the sale of Android boxes revoked. They argued in court documents that it was never established that if the companies continued to sell their devices, it would harm cable companies. The appeals court said it was satisfied the federal court made the right decision to impose the ban. Court documents stated that "uncontested evidence" included "advertising that Android TV is a way to access free TV content and avoid cable bills."
"I am very disappointed," prosecutor Vincent Wesley said of the decision. "They didn't even give us a chance." Both Bell and Rogers praised the decision and said it strengthens their legal argument that Android Boxes are a clear case of copyright infringement.
"Today's swift appeal of the Federal Court order demonstrates that this is a clear case of piracy," Rogers spokeswoman Sarah Schmidt said in an email to CBC News.
"Today's ruling is an important step towards ensuring that the illegal sharing of our content is not free, and that the people who create and produce it are compensated for their work."
medium;">Bell echoed those words.
"The courts continue to support our position that these Boxes are illegal, and those who continue to sell them will face significant consequences," said Bell spokesman Marc Choma.
The case has already led to consequences for Wesley. The defendants were fined $5,000 for court costs. Wesley said he may ultimately close the store and exit the Android device business. "I really don't know where we go from here. It doesn't look very good."
In reality, this is the first “bell” of serious competition between cable and internet television. Due to the rapid development of the latter, cable operators are using increasingly difficult methods to hinder the development of internet television. Who benefits from this? Except for cable operators, it's not profitable for anyone. The advantages of internet television are obvious – It's cheaper, it can be connected to any device (tablet, mobile phone, Android box, mini PC with Windows, Linux, etc.), and it can be watched anywhere in the world, as long as there's an internet connection. How can a Pole connect to cable TV if they live in, for example, Spain? Why sign long-term contracts with cable TV operators when they can pay every day, week, month, year, at their discretion? Besides Internet TV distributors, the Internet TV user, the customer, also suffers. Instead of creating good conditions for the customer, cable TV operators are hindering the development of something new, aimed solely at customer convenience. Your convenience! We hope that in the near future, Internet TV will strengthen its position, and we will do everything to facilitate this. Make the right choice. Sincerely, VenSYS.
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