Movie studios, Netflix, and Amazon have banded together to file a first-of-its-kind copyright lawsuit against a streaming media player called TickBox TV.

The complaint (PDF), filed Friday, says the TickBox devices are nothing more than "tool[s] for mass infringement," which operate by grabbing pirated video streams from the Internet. The lawsuit was filed by Amazon and Netflix Studios, along with six big movie studios that make up the Motion Picture Association of America: Universal, Columbia, Disney, Paramount, 20th Century Fox, and Warner Bros.

"What TickBox actually sells is nothing less than illegal access to Plaintiffs' copyrighted content," write the plaintiffs' lawyers. "TickBox TV uses software to link TickBox's customers to infringing content on the Internet. When those customers use TickBox TV as Defendant intends and instructs, they have nearly instantaneous access to multiple sources that stream Plaintiffs' Copyrighted Works without authorization."

The device's marketing materials let users know the box is meant to replace paid-for content, with "a wink and a nod," by predicting that prospective customers who currently pay for Amazon Video, Netflix, or Hulu will find that "you no longer need those subscriptions."

The lawsuit shows that Amazon and Netflix, two Internet companies that are relatively new to the entertainment business, are more than willing to join together with movie studios to go after businesses that grab their content.

TickBox is powered by Android 6.0, along with Kodi, an open source media player software. The box doesn't host any content but rather searches the Internet for streams that it can make available to users.

User searches for copyrighted content on a TickBox will lead to unauthorized pirate streams. The MPAA makes that point in the complaint, which describes how it was easy to find a stream of the movie War for the Planet of the Apes in September 2017. The movie wasn't authorized for in-home viewing of any kind at that time.

A TickBox TV customer could simply select the "In Theaters" category and be presented with a variety of movies that aren't authorized for in-home viewing of any kind. As the complaint explains, the user is then presented with a variety of current 2017 releases, including Fox's War for the Planet of the Apes, the third listed title. On September 11, 2017, 44 pirated streams of the movie were available to TickBox users, even though Fox had not authorized the movie for in-home viewing of any kind.

“Every movie and TV series”

If TickBox actually were to step up and defend this lawsuit, it would be an interesting battle in the copyright wars. In a way, it's just the newest iteration in a long line of technology products that can be used for infringing or non-infringing purposes. One can get a sense of TickBox's defense by reading even the first few lines of text on its website, which loudly proclaim the product's legality.

"Tickbox TV is legal," the site's front-page Q&A reads. "Tickbox TV is only a directory or library of content which is hosted by third parties on the internet... it does not download anything. Tickbox TV does not condone parties who pirate or download copyrighted media and this box is not to be used for such purposes. Tickbox TV is 100% legal. It is legal to stream content. It is illegal to download copy written material." (Emphasis in original.)

Further down, the Q&A asks: "What TV shows and movies can I see for free?" The answer:

You can see almost every movie and TV series ever made. You can even access movies and shows that are still on Demand and episodes of TV that were just aired. You will never pay to watch any of them.

Since the beginning of the Internet era, using a "see no evil, hear no evil" defense to copyright infringement allegations has rarely worked out in court. Copyright holders have successfully argued that even content-neutral services, like Grokster and search engines like TorrentSpy, were "inducing" copyright infringement based on things like their marketing materials. Link sites and cyberlockers have also tried versions of the same defense, basically arguing that they're just searching out whatever's out there online hosted by someone else. It hasn't worked.

The few facts laid out in the complaint and on Tickbox's website don't look promising for the company's defense. Tickbox software advertises, and apparently curates, an "In Theaters" category that includes mostly (likely all) content that's not authorized for free Internet streaming. It specifically suggests customers can drop subscriptions to pay services like Netflix, which doesn't authorize any of its content to be streamed by non-customers.

Tickbox's instructional video page even shows someone, presumably an owner or founder, searching for and accessing an HD stream of a movie, Gold with Matthew McConaughey. The video narrator even points out that the film is still in theaters at the time the video is made. Another instructional video walks a user through how to access an episode of Modern Family—a TV show owned by ABC, a division of Disney, one of the plaintiffs in the case.

Murky ownership

It's unlikely that the Tickbox case will test the boundaries of secondary liability in copyright law, though—or that the company will be able to mount any kind of serious defense to the MPAA's legal onslaught. The company is run out of a small office in an Atlanta suburb, and its ownership is unclear. Some of the company's instructional setup videos look like they were shot in a few minutes on someone's cell phone.

Further Reading Grokster goes dark as part of legal settlement

I put in a call to Tickbox's support line, which is the company's only public phone number, and reached a call center in Costa Rica. I explained that I was a reporter working on a story about Tickbox. I asked for contact information for the main office or for anyone at the company authorized to speak to a journalist.

"We don't have that number," the customer service worker told me after putting me on hold for a few minutes. "I wouldn't be able to provide you with anyone."

Tickbox TV support also didn't respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Georgia corporate filings show that Tickbox's initial paperwork was filed by Jeffrey Goldstein, but a 2017 amendment states that Carrla Goldstein "is the 100% owner and manager and organizer of TICKBOXTV LLC."

Another Georgia company in the video-streaming business, Sidetick TV, resides at the same address. Sidetick seems to have been a Roku channel at one point and had a poorly rated Google App. Today, the company's Facebook page promotes Tickbox. Sidetick's corporate papers name Jon Goldstein and Jeff Goldstein as officials.

None of the people listed on corporate paperwork for Sidetick or Tickbox could be reached for comment.