Content Companies Seek Shutdown of Set of Pirate Streaming Sites

The interconnected PubFilm websites are a "massive" pirated TV and movie streaming operation with more than 8 million visits a month, several content companies said in a lawsuit (in Pacer) unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The suit said the PubFilm pirate sites include PubFilm, PubFilmHDNo1, PubFilmHD, PidTV, Top100Film and iDMCA and are believed to operate from Vietnam. Alleging direct and secondary copyright infringement, trademark infringement, unfair competition and false designation of origin, the content companies asked for an order that the PubFilm domain names be rendered inactive and transferred to them, as well as for damages. The plaintiffs are Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Columbia, Universal, Disney, Paramount and Viacom. PubFilm didn't comment Tuesday.