Sky Wins Irish Court Order to Unmask 300 Pirate IPTV Users via Revolut Bank

Summary

Last August, we reported on the case of David Dunbar, a Wexford man who consented to a €480,000 damages judgment after Sky exposed his illegal IPTV operation. The initially defiant IPTV operator had destroyed evidence and was fined €30,000 for contempt of court. This penalty followed Dunbar’s refusal to allow investigators to search his home, despite a High Court-sanctioned Anton Piller order. While much of the internal service data was reportedly lost, the man’s Revolut account revealed that he received €118,992 from resellers over a period of three and a half years. During this time, subscribers also paid €72,414 and £9,256. While Sky was pleased with the actions against the man who they describe as a “top level” pirate, the company was not done yet. Revolut Must Unmask IPTV Pirates This week, the story moved to the next stage. On Wednesday, Ireland’s High Court granted Sky a Norwich Pharmacal order requiring Revolut Bank UAB to hand over the names, addresses, and banking details of 304 IPTV subscribers and 10 resellers connected to Dunbar’s service, “IPTV is Easy.” The application was supported by Premier Sports, GAA+, LOITV, and Clubber TV, which shows that the affected content extends well beyond Sky’s own channels. To obtain the identities of these IPTV resellers and subscribers, Sky initially approached Revolut directly. However, the bank said it could only disclose information following a court order, and on Wednesday Judge Brian Cregan granted one. Sky’s barrister, Theo Donnelly, told the court that it expects to use the personal information to take legal action against the resellers and some of the end users of these pirate boxes. For Sky, it would not be possible to take legal action against all 304 subscribers, he said. However, legal action against IPTV users is new in Ireland, which makes this a key change in tactics. Deterrent Effect By unmasking the IPTV subscribers, Sky hopes to create a deterrent effect on the country’s estimated 400,000 pirate IPT...