Astro has won a settlement against a Nasi Kandar restaurant chain for illegal broadcasts. According to a press release, the company obtained the settlement through a consent judgement at the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Thaqwa, as part of its fight against unauthorised broadcasts and digital piracy.
As for the details of the case, the restaurant chain apparently had valid subscriptions for only two premises, but had illegally extended the broadcasts to its other eight branches through the use of Astro smart cards, decoder boxes, and other equipment. With this, the high court found that Thaqwa had breached subscription agreements on unauthorised use of Astro’s pay-TV broadcasts.
The settlement saw the chain paying RM221,773.20 to Measat, a subsidiary of Astro Malaysia Holdings, as well as Thaqwa agreeing to use their subscription solely at authorised locations. Astro added that this settlement is just one of several cases it is pursuing to protects its intellectual property rights.
Back in 2021, the satellite TV operator and content producer claimed that digital piracy contributed to at annual loss of RM3 billion to the entertainment and media industry. Together with local content creators, it had demanded higher penalties for the offence and for the government to more effectively block illegal streaming sites.
