The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) has a filed lawsuit  in a New York federal court in New York against South Asian pirate video services, Desi TV and Live TV.

The case, filed last week, is consistent with similar lawsuits coordinated by IBCAP and also includes claims against a seller of the illegal services — a dealer in Brooklyn known as 786 Wireless and its owner Rana Afzal.

In an official statement from Denver, the coalition said, “Sending a clear message to those who ignore IBCAP’s copyright infringement notices, this lawsuit follows a long string of copyright cases coordinated by IBCAP and filed by IBCAP members against pirate services and their resellers, most of which have already resulted in significant damage awards.”

Apart from financial damages, IBCAP has also sought removal of IBCAP protected channels or a shutdown of the services entirely.

In addition, lawsuits filed this year, which are pending decisions, include those against other South Asian pirates like Chitram TV (for more than $31 million) and MyIndianTV  that has been sued for more than $26 million in damages plus injunctive relief.

The lawsuit filed last week was brought by IBCAP member US’ DISH Network that alleged the operators of Desi TV and Live TV services engaged in direct copyright infringement by transmitting South Asian channels and content airing on those channels without authorization to users in the United States.

The complaint also alleged that a retailer selling the services, 786 Wireless, is liable for secondary copyright infringement for encouraging and materially contributing to the direct infringement by, among other things, facilitating access to the copyrighted works and creating the audience for the infringement.

A press statement added that the complaint alleged the defendants’ actions were willful and malicious for ignoring IBCAP’s notices of infringement. The complaint also sought an injunction against the defendants, and their hosting companies and CDNs, which would prohibit the continued transmission of the channels at issue and that would prohibit any retailers from selling the infringing IPTV services.

“This latest case reiterates that IBCAP and its members will not tolerate piracy and will take action against illegal IPTV services and their dealers who ignore our take down notices” said Chris Kuelling, executive director of IBCAP.

“Dealers of these illegal IPTV services need to realize that they are risking their entire business by being involved, and it simply is not worth taking that risk,” he added.

As with prior lawsuits coordinated by IBCAP, NAGRA provided significant investigatory and technical assistance to prepare the evidence necessary to support the case.

“As a long-term partner of IBCAP, NAGRA is proud to have provided intelligence and evidence to support this lawsuit against South Asian pirate video services,” said Jean-Philippe Plantevin, VP anti-piracy services at NAGRA.

The International Broadcast Coalition Against Piracy Inc. is a coalition of leading international broadcasters and distributors representing more than 140 television channels from Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America. IBCAP is the largest anti-piracy organization focused on multicultural content. The non-profit organization proactively monitors and identifies unauthorized video services, collects evidence, and assists with legal actions and criminal investigations against organizations and individuals engaging in pirate activities.