A Jackson Heights electronics shop that turned Android set-top boxes into all-you-can-stream pirate TV hubs just got shut down by a federal judge in Brooklyn. The Eastern District of New York court found the local retailer liable for selling pre-loaded IPTV devices and ordered any remaining hardware destroyed, following a DISH Network lawsuit that targets the store, its owner and an overseas wholesaler. At the heart of the case are Android boxes sold with access to a pirate streaming service that carried TV channels for which DISH holds U.S. rights.
Judge grants partial summary judgment
U.S. District Judge Orelia E. Merchant on Tuesday granted DISH partial summary judgment, finding that the Jackson Heights reseller materially contributed to copyright infringement and helped customers hook into the pirated service. The court held that the shop and its owner “provided the mechanisms for Service Users to access and view the Works and therefore materially contributed to the infringing activity,” according to the memorandum and order filed with the ruling. U.S. District Court.
Permanent injunction orders destruction of boxes
The judge went a step further with a permanent injunction that flatly bans the store from selling the preloaded boxes and compels destruction of the infringing devices. The signed order also requires the defendants to report back to the court on which units are destroyed and in what quantity, a safeguard the judge said is designed to reduce the risk that deactivated boxes quietly get switched back on. U.S. District Court.
Supplier defense rejected; willful blindness found
In filings, the shop owner claimed a supplier told him that cease-and-desist letters were a “scam” and that he should keep selling the boxes anyway. The court did not buy it. The order finds that blowing off six separate warnings met the standard for willful blindness, which in turn satisfied the knowledge requirement for contributory infringement. The judge also noted that the owner admitted to roughly $5,000 in gross proceeds from the sales, which the court treated as evidence of a direct financial benefit from the infringing activity.
How damages could add up
DISH is expected to seek a default judgment against the overseas wholesaler that never showed up in the case. Litigation papers list 170 registered works that DISH says appeared on the pirate service. If a court ever awarded the statutory ceiling for willful infringement, with up to $150,000 per registered work, the theoretical maximum would land around $25.5 million, though judges commonly exercise their discretion to award much less than the cap. See the case docket for the filings and schedule and 17 U.S.C. § 504 for the statutory damages framework. Justia; Cornell LII.
Part of a wider enforcement push
This Queens ruling drops into a broader wave of federal enforcement targeting IPTV operators and U.S.-based resellers. Rights holders have filed a string of cases this year, asking courts for injunctions and default judgments to cut off distribution and claw back damages. Their argument is that overseas operators and domestic storefronts occupy different links in the same infringing chain, and both should be on the hook. See recent case tracking for similar litigation. Law360.
What happens next
The court has given DISH the green light to pursue attorneys’ fees and costs and set an expedited briefing schedule. DISH must serve its motion papers by July 3, 2026, defendants’ opposition is due August 3, and any reply is due August 10, according to the court’s order. DISH has also told the court it plans to move for default judgment against the wholesaler that has not appeared, after which the judge could decide damages and fee awards at a later date. U.S. District Court.
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