It's not entirely clear if and why Orient Cable's execs thought they could get away with showing a pirated, possibly torrent-sourced, version of the biggest movie of the year. Maybe it's because the company only serves subscribers in a provincial city (Dipolog, Zamboanga del Norte). Or maybe it's because it's used to such a brazen business practice -- after Teatro de Dapitan went to the cops, the company reportedly stopped airing Endgame and replaced it with a pirated copy of an old Filipino superhero movie entitled Captain Barbel.

It's still really easy to get illegal copies of the latest Hollywood films in the country either via torrents or pirated DVD vendors. But Philippine authorities have been trying to fight against piracy in recent years. While Marvel has yet to announce whether it's taking action against the cable company, the movie house's lawyers will likely use the local anti-piracy laws Orient Cable violated to back up their complaint.