Astro has brought civil claims in the Kuala Lumpur High Court against two F&B outlets after gathering evidence that they were streaming and showing pirated Astro content to customers in their premises: Restoran Jamal Mohamed & Sheriff in Petaling Jaya and its owner and SDP Bistro in Taman Molek, Johor Bahru and its owners.

Astro was subsequently able to secure from the High Court a declaration that the outlet owners’ acts of screening and showing Astro copyrighted content to the public in their business premises without Astro’s consent or licence was an act of copyright infringement pursuant to Section 36 of the Copyright Act 1987.

The two outlets and their owners have admitted their misconduct and ceased from infringing the Astro copyrighted content. Restoran Jamal Mohamed & Sheriff has also committed to a legal Astro subscription.

Astro’s civil claims against these F&B outlets were based on the precedent set by the High Court’s landmark ruling that it secured with the Premier League in November 2022, which made it clear that it is illegal for commercial premises to show content to the public from unauthorised sources, including Astro broadcasts without the appropriate commercial licence.

In a separate case, directors of Robataya Sdn Bhd, who owns Scotsman Yakatori Bar in Petaling Jaya, have issued a public apology to Astro for showing unauthorised Astro content, after being issued a cease-and-desist letter. Robataya Sdn Bhd has entered into a settlement agreement with Astro, admitting to its wrongdoing and signing up to a legal Astro subscription. Tai Kam Leong, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, Astro said: “We welcome these positive outcomes from our legal actions against commercial establishments that have been illegally streaming and showing unauthorised content to their customers.

We are sending out a strong message that tough measures will be taken against anyone who is found guilty. Piracy deeply hurts our ability to keep serving fans of our content and erodes our ability to make further investment in premium sport for Malaysians.” “Piracy impacts the whole content industry and significantly damages the Malaysian economy. We will continue to protect both Astro’s business and our thousands of legitimate customers against those who profit from piracy. We are committed to working closely with the authorities, industry players and stakeholders in battling this theft.” Tai continued.

These successful legal actions against commercial establishments follow a number of other cases this year where courts have handed down fines to individuals found guilty of copyright infringement by selling pirate TV boxes that offered unauthorised access to Astro content.