Alberta judge rejects Super Channel parent’s request to block sale of set-top boxes

By: The Canadian Press Posted: Last Modified:

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EDMONTON - An Alberta court has rejected an Edmonton company's request to block four Canadian retailers from selling set-top boxes that allegedly can be used to illegally access its programming offerings.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/05/2021 (1966 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

EDMONTON – An Alberta court has rejected an Edmonton company’s request to block four Canadian retailers from selling set-top boxes that allegedly can be used to illegally access its programming offerings.

Allarco Entertainment named Staples Canada, Best Buy Canada, London Drugs and Canada Computers in its application for an injunction to protect its Super Channel pay-television service from intellectual property theft.

Allarco also asked Alberta’s Court of Queen’s Bench to issue an order against an unknown number of unidentified customers of the retailers as well as unidentified equipment suppliers.

A Super Channel logo is shown in a handout. An Alberta court has rejected an Edmonton company's request to block four Canadian retailers from selling set-top boxes that allegedly can be used to give customers access to pirated programming. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO
A Super Channel logo is shown in a handout. An Alberta court has rejected an Edmonton company's request to block four Canadian retailers from selling set-top boxes that allegedly can be used to give customers access to pirated programming. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

But Justice Michael Lema completely rejected Allarco’s requests for court injunctions in a ruling dated April 30.

Lema’s 33-page ruling says Allarco failed to provide any legal justification for preventing the retailers from selling this type of set-top box, or that Super Channel’s subscriber base declined because consumers used such devices to access its content illegally.

The judge also said the retailers are entitled to have Allarco pay for the cost of defending the action but didn’t set an amount and invited the defendants to make further submissions by May 7.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 3, 2021.

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