Over 50 ISPs in Australia May Block IPTV Provider Reelplay

• A complaint by IMD against Reelplay could see the IPTV provider be banned by 52 ISPs in India.
• The service provider has no license to broadcast any of the content available under its subscription plans.
• The blocking injunction may go in place if the Federal Court of Australia approves IMD’s application.

Reelplay is one of the biggest IPTV providers in Australia, and its illegal content attracted the attention of copyright holders recently. Following a legal complaint against the provider, Australia’s Federal court may direct more than 50 ISPs to block access to the service’s content.

TV distributor International Media Distribution (IMD)’s issued a lawsuit against Reelplay was swiftly handled by the court leading to local ISPs being given blocking orders. Reelplay claims to offer a best-in-class user experience to users and that it is powered by a “proprietary streaming system”, which is built from the ground up. However, all of the content available on the platform is illegal, and the service as a whole violates a number of copyrights.

According to the official complaint, “Reelplay [is] not responsible for the content and do not guarantee nor claim any rights to the content. Reelplay devices provide streams of all the channels as they are available on the internet.”

Copyright infringement is not all Reelplay is guilty of. The service provider harvests IP addresses and Wi-Fi information of users. Everything from search results to advertiser data is logged with view times and other data used for targeted advertising. The company owns no licenses for any of the content that is offered under the subscription package.

If the application by IMD is accepted 52 ISPs will block the Reelplay. Section 115a of Australia’s Copyright Act was recently updated to make it easier for copyright holders to have blocking injunctions placed against offenders. Copyright holders have supported the move to update the Copyright Act, and several lawsuits are already in place to take action against infringers.

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