Astro has managed to bring a civil claim against two F&B outlets after gathering evidence that they were streaming and showing pirated content to customers on their premises: Restoran Jamal Mohamed & Sheriff in Petaling Jaya and its owner and SDP Bistro in Taman Molek, Johor Bahru and its owners.
The satellite broadcast operator was subsequently able to secure from the High Court a declaration that the outlet owners’ acts of screening and showing copyrighted content to the public in their business premises without consent or licence was an act of copyright infringement pursuant to Section 36 of the Copyright Act 1987.
The two outlets and their owners have admitted their misconduct and ceased infringing its copyrighted content. Restoran Jamal Mohamed & Sheriff has also committed to a legal Astro subscription.
Astro’s civil claims against these F&B outlets were based on the precedent set by the High Court’s landmark ruling that it secured with the Premier League in November 2022, which made it clear that it is illegal for commercial premises to show content to the public from unauthorised sources, including Astro broadcasts without the appropriate commercial licence.
In a separate case, directors of Robataya Sdn Bhd, who owns Scotsman Yakatori Bar in Petaling Jaya, have issued a public apology for showing unauthorised content, after being issued a cease-and-desist letter. Robataya Sdn Bhd has entered into a settlement agreement with Astro, admitting to its wrongdoing and signing up to a legal Astro subscription.
These successful legal actions against commercial establishments follow a number of other cases this year where courts have handed down fines to individuals found guilty of copyright infringement by selling pirate TV boxes that offered unauthorised access to Astro content the company said.
