4.2 KiB
Dear Madam, Sir,
We represent the Motion Picture Association, the Motion Picture Association – Canada, their members, and Amazon Content Services LLC, in certain intellectual property matters and write to you on their behalf and in accordance with their instructions.
We request that GitHub, Inc. (“GitHub”) suspend the account github.com/MrBlamo6969 (the “Account”). The Account is used by its operator to engage in ongoing acts of copyright infringement in contravention of an Order of the Federal Court (Canada) issued on January 15, 2019, which amounts to contempt of Court by the Account’s operator.
On September 7, 2018, our clients launched an action for copyright infringement against the operator of the Account, an individual named [private] operating on the Internet under the alias “[private]”, in Federal Court File No. T-1633-18. In the context of that action, our clients alleged that [private] notably developed, hosted, promoted and distributed infringing add-ons for the Kodi media center, which provided unauthorized access to motion pictures and television content for which the copyright is owned by our clients.
On January 15, 2019, the Federal Court issued a final Judgment against [private], including a declaration of infringement and a permanent injunction. A copy of that final judgment is enclosed for your immediate reference.
The permanent injunction enjoins and restrains [private] from, inter alia, hosting, distributing or promoting infringing Kodi add-ons and their repositories, including notably the “Blamo” repository and the “Chocolate Salty Balls” infringing add-ons; see paras. C)(1) to C(4) and Schedule 2. The final judgment also declares that these activities amount to infringement of our clients’ copyright; see para. B(2). A representative list of works infringed by [private] as a result of the aforementioned activities is reproduced at Schedule 1 to the Judgment.
It has recently come to our clients’ attention that despite this final Judgment of the Federal Court, [private] is currently using the Account to host and distribute infringing Kodi add-ons and their repository, including notably the Chocolate Salty Balls infringing add-on and the Blamo repository, as it appears from the following URLs:
- github.com/MrBlamo6969/repo: General repository of the Account;
- github.com/MrBlamo6969/repo/tree/master/plugin.video.chocolatesaltyballs:
“Chocolate Salty Balls” infringing Kodi add-on; - github.com/MrBlamo6969/repo/tree/master/repository.blamorepo: “Blamo”
infringing Kodi add-on repository.
[private]’s operation of the Account clearly and directly contravenes section C of GitHub’s Terms of Service, the Canadian Copyright Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-42), and the final Judgment of the Federal Court dated January 15, 2019, thus amounting to contempt of Court under Rule 466 of the Federal Courts Rules (SOR/98-106).
We have previously written to [private] directly to request that he ceases his infringing activities, most recently on December 19, 2019, to no avail.
We therefore request that GitHub immediately suspends the Account to preserve our clients’ rights and ensure that the letter and spirit of the final Judgment of the Federal Court are respected.
The undersigned has good faith belief that use of the Account to host, distribute and promote software and repositories that provide unauthorized access to copyrighted materials is not authorized by the copyright owners (our clients), or their agent, or the law. The undersigned has taken fair use into consideration. The undersigned reiterates that the Federal Court has declared that the activities of the operator of the Account amount to copyright infringement, and that he is bound by a permanent injunction as a result of the final Judgment mentioned above.
The information described above is accurate, and, under penalty of perjury, the undersigned is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owners listed in the first paragraph of this letter.
We look forward to hearing from you and please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned by e-mail ([private]) or by phone ([private]) should you have any question or wish to discuss the foregoing.
Yours very truly,
[private]