The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) announced a $25 million complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Innetra PC, a U.K.-based company (in Wales) providing hosting services from data centers in the Netherlands.
The complaint alleges that Innetra used its servers and network infrastructure to host and transmit the copyrighted works of IBCAP members over the internet, enabling access to unauthorized streams through pirate-operated set-top boxes, apps and websites.
Innetra also entered into peering arrangements with peers such as Lumen Technologies, Inc. (formerly Level 3) and NTT America, Inc., using their datacenters and network infrastructure throughout the United States to deliver this traffic. Without these peering arrangements, Innetra would have been unable to deliver it as effectively, according to the Complaint.
Evidence discovered
In 2024, Innetra was responsible for delivering approximately 15% of unauthorized IBCAP member streams detected by the IBCAP lab. The pirated programming detected in this case includes content that aired on 22 Arabic, Hindi and Bangla language channels licensed to the IBCAP member.
The lawsuit asserts that Innetra and its general partner, Elna Paulette Belle, are liable for contributory and vicarious copyright infringement for facilitating the illegal streaming of content on behalf of at least 15 pirate services in the United States.
Ms. Belle is being sued in her personal capacity for her role in authorizing, directing and failing to exercise her ability to stop Innetra’s infringing activities.
Notices disregarded
Despite receiving more than 300 infringement notices from IBCAP, the defendants failed to respond to all but one. In that single response, Innetra stated it would not comply with IBCAP’s takedown requests.
Further underscoring its disregard for U.S. copyright law, Innetra openly advertises on its website that it does not recognize or follow the requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
The pirated works were also registered in Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, India, and Bangladesh, where they were authored and first published.
Piracy does not pay
“Innetra blatantly disregarded IBCAP’s notices to its detriment – if you are a hosting provider or CDN and disregard our repeated notices, there is a strong chance you will be sued for copyright infringement,” said Chris Kuelling, executive director of IBCAP.
The complaint seeks a court injunction prohibiting Innetra from transmitting IBCAP member content and statutory damages for registered works of up to $25.65 million, based on a maximum of $150,000 per infringement for 171 registered works. The lawsuit also seeks to recover profits for unregistered works and attorneys’ fees and costs.
The lawsuit was coordinated by IBCAP and filed by IBCAP member DISH Network. Evidence for the case was obtained and provided by the IBCAP lab.
Further reading
IBCAP announces $25 Million copyright infringement lawsuit against UK-based hosting provider Innetra PC. Press release. May 7, 2025. International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP)
DISH Network LLC, Plaintiff, v. Innetra PC and Elna Paulette Belle, Defendants. Plaintiff’s complaint (Document 1). Filed May 6, 2025. US District Court of the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.
Why it matters
This is the third lawsuit coordinated by IBCAP against a non-U.S.-based CDN or hosting provider. The first, against Datacamp, resulted in Datacamp paying $3 million and agreeing to implement takedown and repeat infringer policies. The second, against Virtual Systems in 2024, was still pending in the Western District of Washington, as of this writing.
“This lawsuit against Innetra underscores IBCAP’s continued commitment to identifying non-compliant CDNs and hosting providers, halting their unlawful activities and ensuring they are held accountable for infringing the copyrighted works of IBCAP members,” said IBCAP’s Chris Kuelling.
For more information about IBCAP membership, visit https://www.ibcap.org/membership.
