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ARTICLE · 05 OCTOBER 2022

The Bell Media Inc v Macciacchera (Smoothstreams.tv) Decision And Unauthorized Subscription Services

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The Federal Court recently released its decision in Bell Media Inc v Macciacchera (Smoothstreams.tv), 2022 FC 1139, in which the court stressed the importance of compliance with Interim Orders...

CanadaIntellectual Property
Kiera Boyd
Kiera Boyd
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The Federal Court recently released its decision in Bell Media Inc v Macciacchera (Smoothstreams.tv), 2022 FC 1139, in which the court stressed the importance of compliance with Interim Orders and indicated that the Plaintiffs' case has strong merits going forward.

The Defendants were involved in the operation of SSTV Services, which provides subscribers with unauthorized access to movies and tv shows for which the copyright is owned or licensed by the Plaintiffs. The Plaintiffs' works can be accessed legitimately through various authorized subscriptions/platforms, over-the-air signals broadcast by the plaintiffs themselves, or through the purchasing of their works as physical media. Despite this, SSTV Services provided unauthorized access to the Plaintiffs' works, which the Plaintiffs argued undermined their ability to control the commercial exploitation of their own works, interfered with their relationships with authorized distributors and Canadian users

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