Set TV is a $20-per-month streaming service that comes with its own set-top box. For the low monthly fee, subscribers get access to over 500 live TV channels and “thousands” of on-demand shows. The service even gives users access to Netflix shows and movies that are still in theaters.
The lawsuit alleges that Set TV (d.b.a Setvnow) is promoting pirated material to consumers by relying on “third-party sources that illicitly reproduce copyrighted works and then provide streams of popular content such as movies still exclusively in theaters and television shows.”
“Defendants promote the use of Setvnow for overwhelmingly, if not exclusively, infringing purposes, and that is how their customers use Setvnow,” the complaint continues.
Plaintiffs want the service shut down
The suit was filed in a California district court on Friday by the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), a coalition of media companies dedicated to fighting piracy.
In addition to allegations of promoting pirated material, ACE claims that Set TV aimed to grow its subscriber numbers by paying for sponsored reviews on YouTube.
“You have new releases right there and you simply click on the movie … you click it and click on play again and here you have the movie just like that in 1 2 3 in beautiful HD quality’,” said one sponsored video posted by a popular YouTube user, Solo Man.
The suit seeks $150,000 per work infringed, which could add up to millions of dollars. In addition to monetary damages, the plaintiffs are asking the California district court to shut down the service and impound all of its set-top boxes.
SET Broadcast has not yet commented on the case.