TorrentFreak's Latest News

Omi in a Hellcat Sued Again, This Time Over Pirate IPTV Brand 'Reloaded'Andy Maxwell, 12 Apr 12:42 PM In November 2019, the US federal government sh

Omi in a Hellcat Sued Again, This Time Over Pirate IPTV Brand 'Reloaded' Andy Maxwell, 12 Apr 12:42 PM In November 2019, the US federal government shut down IPTV services operated by Bill Omar Carrasquillo, aka 'Omi in a Hellcat'. IRS and FBI agents seized "at least" $5.2m from his bank accounts along with a fleet of supercars. The US government says that Carrasquillo's platforms redistributed Comcast, Verizon, Spectrum, DirecTV and Frontier Communications broadcasts, reportedly earning Carrasquillo a cool $34 million. Earlier this year, Carrasquillo announced he would plead guilty, presumably in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence than the 514 years in prison suggested in the government's indictment. There have been no public developments on that front but Carrasquillo now faces new problems relating to a spin-off business. Carrasquillo's 'Reloaded' IPTV Branding Carrasquillo operated several IPTV services, variously branded Reboot, Gears TV, Reloaded and Gears Reloaded but with those no longer in operation, he needed to make money in other ways. The YouTuber was already considering the apparel/merchandising business and has since used his already well-known 'Reloaded' IPTV brand to sell a range of clothing and sneakers through ReloadedMerch.com. While Carrasquillo wisely avoided promoting his 'Gears' branding (ripped-off from Epic Games' Gears of War), the decision to go with Reloaded has now resulted in yet another lawsuit. Company Claims Ownership of 'Reloaded' Trademark In a complaint filed this month in an Indiana court, clothing and apparel company NuStar Enterprises LLC states that since September 2016, it has continually used the 'Reloaded' trademark in commerce. "NuStar's clothing and apparel products, including its RELOADED® line of merchandise, are available for retail purchase in brick-and-mortar stores, and were also marketed, distributed, and sold through NuStar's 'Reloaded' storefront on Amazon.com," the complaint reads. "To protect its rights in the RELOADED trademark NuStar obtained and owns U.S. Trademark Registration No. 6,376,399 in International Trademark Class 025 for the mark RELOADED in connection with 'clothing and apparel, namely, shirts, jackets, pants, hats, belts, scarves, gloves, socks, underwear, swimwear, and wristbands.' The RELOADED® trademark was registered on June 8, 2021." NuStar Tried to Negotiate With Carrasquillo According to the complaint, NuStar learned that Carrasquillo intended to launch an apparel business under the 'Reloaded' brand in July 2019. In response, NuStar says it informed Carrasquillo via his agent that NuStar has rights in that name so the parties entered into a negotiation. "Over the following months Mr. Carrasquillo's agent sought to work out a licensing arrangement with NuStar. These efforts fell apart in late 2019, on information and belief, due to Mr. Carrasquillo's legal and financial troubles," NuStar says. The complaint says that Carrasquillo formed Reloaded Merch LLC in November 2020 to sell 'Reloaded' products under "an identical mark" NuStar claims to own. Due to the "Omi in a Hellcat" persona, the market became so saturated with Reloaded products that the trademark is now associated with Carrasquillo, not NuStar. That has reportedly caused problems. NuStar Received a Violation From Amazon According to the lawsuit, NuStar sold its products on Amazon but when some Amazon customers saw the company's 'Reloaded' footwear products, they complained to the online marketplace that they "were not made by "Omi in a Hellcat." In response, Amazon hit NuStar with a violation. "As a result of this undeserved violation, Plaintiff's RELOADED® footwear products were removed from Amazon, the largest retail e-commerce site in the world, at great reputational and financial damage to Plaintiff," NuStar notes. "As a result of these and other similar instances of reverse confusion, Plaintiff has lost the ability to control its brand identity, lost control over its goodwill and reputation, and has lost the ability to move into new products and markets." Plaintiff Seeks Damages and Injunction Due to the alleged damage to its business interests, NuStar seeks judgments that its trademark has been infringed and Carrasquillo's use of the 'Reloaded' mark amounts to unfair competition. The company also demands an injunction to prevent further use of the 'Reloaded' mark where that "would create a likelihood of confusion, mistake or deception." NuStar also wants an order compelling Carrasquillo to "deliver up and destroy" any material bearing the infringing designation plus damages related to infringement and unfair competition. The company also demands all profits generated by Carrasquillo and Reloaded Merch LLC times three, as per 15 U.S. Code § 1117. The complaint can be found here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Piracy Numbers Drop After Indonesia Blocks Over 3,500 Pirate Sites Ernesto Van der Sar, 11 Apr 08:14 PM Indonesia has been very active on the anti-piracy front in recent years, with the government ordering Internet providers to block thousands of pirate sites. The government action began in mid-2009 and at the start of this month, the local blocklist had grown to include over 3,500 domain names These interventions are cheered on by the Coalition Against Piracy (CAP). The organization, which includes Hollywood players such as Disney, Fox, HBO Asia and NBCUniversal, plus sports leagues such as the Premier League and the NBA, sees Indonesia as one of the most successful anti-piracy pioneers in Asia. Legal Options Flourish as Pirate Traffic Drops CAP is keeping a close eye on the evolvement of online piracy in the Asian region. Its own data shows that traffic to pirate sites decreased by 75% in Indonesia since the blocking efforts started. At the same time, visits to legitimate streaming platforms have tripled. "Indonesia is leading the way when it comes to regulatory site blocking in the Asia Pacific region, if not the world, and the Indonesian government is to be congratulated for the strong stance they have taken in this area," CAP's General Manager Matthew Cheetham says. The positive findings are backed up by CAP's recent YouGov study which found that more than half of all Indonesian consumers say that they cut back or stopped using pirate services due to the blocking efforts. The same survey also found that 76% of Indonesian consumers say they now pirate less and use legal services more often. At the same time, over a quarter of the respondents said they've subscribed to a legal service due to pirate site blockades. Challenges Remain According to CAP, pirate site blocking efforts are also driving traffic to legal sources in other countries in the Asia Pacific region. However, piracy remains a concern, particularly in Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines, where more than 60% of the public uses pirate sites. The anti-piracy group realizes that there is still a long way to go before piracy is no longer a concern. However, it believes that site blocking is here to stay as it helps people get on the right track. "It is now clearly evident that site blocking, particularly regulatory blocking, is effective," Cheetham previously said, noting that blocking efforts also help to curb the spread of malware and other threats. "The benefits are multi-fold, not only are consumers being directed towards legitimate content, but in being blocked from accessing pirate sites, they are also protected from the serious risks that previous CAP studies have proven are inherent in accessing pirate sites." In addition to site blocking, it's also crucial that affordable legal options are widely available. Academic research previously found that, when Netflix failed to launch in Indonesia in 2016, piracy numbers significantly increased compared to neighboring countries. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. ©2022 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company