Cable giants step up piracy battle by interrogating Montreal software developer and searching his home

Canadian cable companieshave ratcheted up their war on piracy by launching a newlegal battle. The effort has already seenBell, Rogers and Quebecor's VideotronsearchaMontreal software developer's home and interrogatehim for more than nine hours.

"The whole experience was horrifying,"says AdamLackman, founder of TVAddons and defendant in a copyright infringement lawsuit launched by the television giants. "It felt like the kind of thing you would have expected to have happened in the Soviet Union."

Telecoms and content creators Bell, Rogers andVideotronbegan their piracy battle last year byfiling a lawsuitagainst Canadian dealers who sell"free TV"Android boxes devicesthat can be used to stream pirated content.

Now the companiesare also targetingLackmanand TVAddons a library of hundreds of apps known as add-ons. Once downloaded on the Android box or a computer with added software, some of the add-onssuch as Exodus and 1Channelallow people easy access to pirated movies, TV shows and even live television.

In their statement of claim filed in Federal Court on June 2, the plaintiffsallege that by developing and making TVAddons available to the public,Lackmancontravened the Copyright Act.

The suit includes a long list of programming allegedly made freely available via TVAddons including Bell'sGame of Thronesand Rogers' Sportsnet.

In his defence, Lackman argues TVAddonsdoesn'thost pirated content but instead connects users to sources already available online, so it serves as nothing more than a search engine.

Home visit

OnJune 9, the telecomsgot an Anton Pillerorder, a civil search warrant that gives a plaintiff access to a defendant's home, without notice, to search for and seize relevant evidence before it can be destroyed.

A Federal Court judge would later declare the Anton Piller orderin this case"unlawful," but that was weeks after a group of men arrived at Lackman's door at8 a.m.onJune 12.

Lackmansays the group included a bailiff, two computer technicians, an independent counsel anda lawyer representing Bell,Rogers andVideotron.

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According to court documents, the group stayed for 16 hours andthe plaintiffs'lawyer and independent counselinterrogatedLackmanfor more than nine hours. He was given a break for dinner and to speak to his lawyer, who was present.

Lackman was"not permitted to refuse to answer questions" and his lawyer wasn't permitted to counsel him in his answers.

"Any time I would question the process, they would threaten me with contempt of court proceedings," says Lackman.

Besides seizing personal items such as his computer and phone,Lackmansaysthe plaintiffs'lawyer and independent counsel forced him to hand over passwords for his emailandsocial media accounts.

Order 'null and void'

But onJune 29,Lackmanhad reason to be hopeful he'dget his possessions back after a Federal Court judge declared the Anton Pillerorder "null and void" and that allseized items be returned.

According to court documents, the judge said the search was supposed to be conducted between8 a.m. and 8 p.m.but instead lasted untilmidnight.

The judge also said the defendant was treated unfairly during the interrogation and wasn'toffered "any of the protections normally afforded to litigants in such circumstances."

He added that "the most egregious part of the questioning" was when the plaintiffs' lawyeraskedLackmanto spill information about other people running operations similar to TVAddons.

The judge said the purpose of the order was topreserveexisting evidence,not hunt for new evidence.

He also concluded that the plaintiffs' legal teamusedthe order to try to shut down TVAddons.

"I am of the view that its true purpose was to destroy the livelihood of the defendant, deny him the financial resources to finance a defence to the claim made against him," the judge wrote.

"The defendant has demonstrated that he has an arguable case that he is not violating the [Copyright] Act," the judge continued, adding thatby the plaintiffs' own estimate, only about oneper cent of Lackman's add-ons were allegedly used to pirate content.

No returns

However,Lackman'sbelongings still haven't been returned. Nor can he accessthe TVAddons website or its social media accounts, which were also seized as part of the original order.

That's because Bell, Rogers andVideotronhave appealed the courtdecisionand a Federal Court of Appeal judge has ruled that until the appeal can be heard,Lackmanwill get nothing back.

The appeal judge said the issue isn't the factthenumber of alleged copyright-infringing add-ons is small, but rather thatTVAddons "targets a market of users seeking to knowingly access copyrighted materials without authorization."

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The plaintiffs'law firm, Smart & Biggar, said it couldn'tcomment on the case at this point and that the appeal hearing will likely take place this fall.

As forLackman, he plans to continue his defence. "At this point, there is no choice but to fight," he said in a written statementto CBC News.

To help pay the legal bills, he's trying to raise money on the fundraising siteIndiegogo.

Lackmanhas also set up a new TVAddons website andTwitter accountand tells CBC News his add-ons are still up and running.