• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, October 17, 2017

Amazon, Netflix and a coalition of Hollywood studios are suing over-the-top device manufacturer TickBox for allegedly enabling copyright infringement.

"What TickBox actually sells is nothing less than illegal access to Plaintiffs’ copyrighted content," the studios allege in a complaint filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. "The device provides the hallmarks of subscribing to authorized streaming services, with one notable exception: the customers only pay money to TickBox, not to Plaintiffs and other content creators upon whose works TickBox’s business depends."

TickBox says on its website that users can "effortlessly connect" the gadget to their TV sets, turn it on, "and explore the largest online media library on the planet."

The company also boasts that its service will let users stop "wasting money with online streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime." The site adds in small print that TickBox "should not be utlized [sic] to download or stream any copyrighted content without permission from the copyright holder."

Amazon, Netflix and the studios are asking U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson to prohibit TickBox from infringing copyright, and to impound the company's devices. The content companies also are seeking damages of at least $150,000 per work infringed.