A US district court in California earlier this month ruled in favour of Bangkok Broadcasting & TV (BBTV), one of Thailand's foremost broadcasting corporations - popularly known as "Channel 7" - awarding BBTV $8.3 million (Bt267 million) in damages for wilful copyright and trademark infringement by IPTV Corporation (ThaiTV.tv), BKT Group and its management.
The judgement followed a fiveday trial in the middle of May during which the jury unanimously found all the defendants - IPTV Corporation (ThaiTV.tv), BKT Group, IPTV chief executive officer Ron Petcha, IPTV owner Tip Petcha and IPTV president Noppadon Wongchaiwat - liable for wilful copyright infringement and trademark infringement.
On May 28, 2009 BBTV initiated formal legal proceedings against the defendants when it filed a complaint that the defendants illegally and wilfully copied, sold and rebroadcast BBTV's copyrighted programmes bearing BBTV's federally trademarked logo.
Specifically, BBTV sought an injunction and damages against IPTV for advertising, marketing, selling and rebroadcasting copies of BBTV's copyrighted materials via IPTV's website, ThaiTV.tv, its satellite television service, and a distribution network that fed Thai and Asian storefronts throughout the US and elsewhere, including Europe.
Prior to the trial, on May 11, the court delivered a partial judgement in favour of BBTV, finding IPTV liable for copyright infringement. During the trial, BKT Group admitted liability for copyright infringement. Following the fiveday trial, the jury returned a unanimous verdict finding all of the defendants liable for wilful copyright infringement and trademark infringement.
On July 8, the court affirmed the jury verdict and delivered a final verdict awarding BBTV $8.3 million in damages and permanently barring the defendants from commencing, either directly or indirectly, any activities that could infringe on BBTV's rights in the future.
The judgement and the unanimous decision by the jury are interpreted as clear confirmation that the defendants' actions were deliberate and conducted without regard to US copyright or trademark law.
As one of Thailand's most recognised news and entertainment broadcasters, BBTV has a policy of taking strong legal action against any person or business entity that wilfully and deliberately infringes upon its copyrighted content. BBTV established this policy under the premise that when its material is used without consent, not only is BBTV's business impacted, but its image and reputation is also potentially sullied because its work is marketed in a manner that does not conform to the high standards for which the channel is recognised.
BBTV will not tolerate infringement of its intellectual property, and will aggressively pursue legal action against any person or business entity that infringes its rights, in Thailand, the United States, or anywhere else in the world.
The case was successfully prosecuted by Baker & McKenzie - a global law firm. The litigation team for the action in the US was led by Howard Wisnia and Sanjay Bhandari of the San Diego Office in cooperation with Nont Horayangura of the Bangkok Office, who is also heading a similar action against the defendants and their team in Thailand.