Broadcasters ITV, Channel 4 and Five have launched a copyright infringement suit against the company, claiming that it uses material they have the rights to without permission.
TVCatchup.com has told OUT-LAW.COM that it believes it has not broken copyright law and that it will defend its business in court.
“TVCatchup’s position is that we are neither broadcasting, copying nor communicating a broadcast contrary to any relevant UK or European law,” said a spokesman. “TVCatchup is supported in its actions by a highly proficient legal team, and if unable to resolve any uncertainty in the civilised manner originally intended, is prepared and ready to vigorously defend itself from the predatory commercially motivated actions of a handful of broadcasters.”
An ITV spokeswoman said that it decided to take action in March this year after it received no reply from a cease and desist letter it sent to TVCatchup.com.
“ITV, Channel 4 and Five can confirm that they issued joint legal proceedings against TVCatchup, a web-based TV streaming service on 29th March 2010,” she said. “TVCatchup do not have a content distribution agreement in place to stream content from any of our channels. We reserve the right to pursue any site or service we believe to be infringing our copyright or using our content in an unlicensed, illegal capacity.”
TVCatchup.com said that its service was simply a way for people in poor reception areas or those without multiple televisions to watch content that they are entitled to watch in broadcast form.
More information to follow...
