Dish, Sling Reach Confidential Settlement to Shut Down ‘Illicit Streaming Service’

Plaintiffs Dish Network and Sling TV reached a confidential settlement with defendant Sentry and its owner, Michael Graziano, over violations of the anti-trafficking provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (see 2310110050), said the parties' consent motion Wednesday (docket 9:23-cv-05074) in U.S. District Court for South Carolina in Beaufort. Sentry and Graziano are alleged to have profited from the sale of an “illicit streaming service,” called Tanggula, that captures and retransmits Dish and Sling content without authorization by circumventing Dish’s security measures. The parties ask that the court, to facilitate the settlement, enter a permanent injunction enjoining the defendants from operating Tanggula and to dismiss the claims, said the consent motion. The defendants agreed to make a confidential monetary payment to the plaintiffs as part of the settlement, obviating the need for an award of damages, it said. Entering the permanent injunction and order of dismissal “will conserve judicial resources and allow the parties to avoid the expense and other burdens of continued litigation,” said the consent motion.