LOS ANGELES – The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), the world’s leading anti-piracy coalition, announced today that the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania has entered a $9 million default judgment against Brandon Weibley, a longtime digital piracy operator. Weibley ran multiple illegal IPTV services, including Beast Mode Live, GreenWing Media, Viking Media, BTV, Von Wik, Shrugs, and Zing.
In an order issued by Judge Jennifer Wilson, the court awarded $9 million in statutory damages for willful copyright infringement and granted a permanent injunction requiring the transfer of Weibley’s piracy-related domains to ACE.
Weibley operated large-scale, illegal IPTV services that provided subscribers with unauthorized access to more than 9,000 television channels, including international programming and live sports. A repeat offender, Weibley has been linked to digital piracy operations dating back to at least 2017.
This judgment represents another significant milestone in ACE’s global enforcement efforts to dismantle illegal streaming infrastructures and hold piracy operators accountable.
“We commend Judge Wilson’s ruling holding Weibley accountable for copyright infringement,” said Jesse K. Martin, Senior VP and Associate General Counsel, Global Litigation and Intermediaries for the Motion Picture Association. “Protecting the intellectual property rights of creators and content owners is essential and this decision reinforces that stealing copyrighted materials carries serious consequences.”
About The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) is the world’s leading coalition dedicated to protecting the legal creative market and reducing digital piracy. Driven by a comprehensive approach to addressing piracy through criminal referrals, civil litigation, and cease-and-desist operations, ACE has achieved many successful global enforcement actions against illegal streaming services and unauthorized content sources and their operators. Drawing upon the collective expertise and resources of more than 50 media and entertainment companies around the world—including sports channels and associations – and reinforced by the Motion Picture Association’s content protection operations, ACE protects the creativity and innovation that drives the global growth of core copyright and entertainment industries. The current governing board members for ACE are Amazon, Apple TV, Netflix, Paramount Global, Sony Pictures, Universal Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Charles Rivkin is Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association and Chairman of ACE.
Media Contact
John Mercurio
john_mercurio@motionpictures.org
