Astro is getting stricter with its distribution rights and copyrights. Today, a salesperson was charged and fined RM20000 by the Ampang Session Court. According to the court, Leong Wei Xiang was guilty of selling TV boxes pre-loaded with unauthorised Astro content under Section 43AA (2) of the Copyright Act 1987.
The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to the charges and paid the RM20,000 fine. Moreover, Leong committed the offence on 21 October 2022 at an outlet at Dataran Pandan Prima, Selangor. The man was found in possession of four Android TV Boxes filled with unauthorised content.
In addition, Astro has filed five legal actions against piracy and copyright infringement in 2023. In total, 10 individuals were found guilty and fined accordingly. Since its implementation on 18 March 2022, The Copyright (Amendment) Act 2022 has criminalised the sale of illicit streaming devices (ISDs). This also includes associated software applications that allow unauthorised access to copyright content.
Moreover, if you are found guilty by the law, then you can be fined from a minimum of RM10000 to a maximum of RM200000. Interestingly, you can also be imprisoned for up to 20 years, or both. While the law is strict, the reasoning behind it is rational. That’s because illegal streaming is a major plague and a lot of companies are dealing with it.
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