DISH Network is pressing forward with a major copyright infringement case in Florida federal court, seeking a default judgment of $28.65 million against the operators of two overseas pirate streaming services and a domestic reseller that allegedly continued distributing stolen content even after repeated warnings according to Torrent Freak.
The pay TV giant is asking a Florida federal court to formalize a default judgment against the operators of Kemo and Lemo TV, as well as one of their U.S.-based resellers. The legal action is the latest chapter in DISH’s increasingly aggressive campaign to dismantle unauthorized streaming networks that siphon subscribers and revenue from legitimate pay television providers.
At the center of the case are two pirate streaming operations that allegedly built a sizable audience by redistributing copyrighted programming without permission. Despite receiving approximately 100 notices of infringement from anti-piracy coalition IBCAP since February 2021, the Lemo TV and Kemo operations continued to stream protected content illegally. The sheer volume of ignored warnings underscores what DISH characterizes as willful, deliberate copyright theft rather than inadvertent infringement.
The scale of the alleged piracy was substantial. During the first quarter of 2025, the service accounted for nearly 30 percent of all unauthorized streams detected on set-top box and streaming services monitored by the IBCAP lab. That figure made the operation one of the most prolific piracy outlets that IBCAP tracked — a remarkable and troubling share of the overall illicit streaming market.
DISH alleged that the Malaysian company Kemo E Marketing Sdn. Bhd and its sole shareholder, Noorhayati Binti Abdul Rahim, are the driving forces behind the Lemo/Kemo operation. Ammar Towir, also from Malaysia, allegedly owns and operates the Lemo/Kemo domains and financial accounts. The identities of these defendants were reportedly uncovered through legal subpoenas obtained during a related proceeding.
In addition to the Malaysia-based defendants, DISH also set its sights on a domestic participant in the alleged scheme. The company named a Florida-based reseller, allegedly operated by Artistry Group LLC, from St. Petersburg, Florida. That company was voluntarily dissolved on February 27, 2025, but DISH notes that the company or its successors continue to run the reselling operation. The continued activity following dissolution suggests the people behind the business attempted to distance themselves from legal liability while keeping the revenue stream alive.
The breakdown of the requested damages reflects the different roles each defendant allegedly played. DISH seeks $150,000 in damages for each of the 181 registered works listed in the complaint against Lemo and Kemo, while seeking maximum available damages for 10 works against the American reseller — totaling $27.15 million for the streaming services and $1.5 million for the reseller.
The path to this default judgment motion was made possible by the defendants’ own inaction. Because the defendants failed to respond to DISH’s complaint while continuing their infringing activity, DISH successfully requested a default, which it now hopes to convert into a formal judgment. Under federal civil procedure, a party that fails to respond to a lawsuit can be found in default, allowing the opposing side to seek a judgment based on the claims in the complaint.
The Florida case is not DISH’s only legal front in its anti-piracy battle, though it comes at a moment of mixed results. Earlier this month, a California federal court dismissed the copyright infringement lawsuit DISH had filed against UK hosting provider Innetra, which DISH accused of providing services to pirate streaming operations including Lemo TV and Kemo, after the court failed to establish jurisdiction.
But the satellite television provider shows no signs of pulling back. In addition to the monetary judgment, DISH is also requesting a broad injunction targeting hosting companies and nineteen domain names associated with the pirate services. Such an injunction, if granted, could effectively dismantle the infrastructure the services rely upon to reach consumers.
DISH has secured significant judgments in similar cases before. The company recently obtained a default judgment of nearly $42 million against a Ukraine-based internet hosting provider that the lawsuit alleged facilitated pirate streaming services distributing DISH-owned content to viewers in the United States.
The Florida case now awaits a ruling on whether the court will convert the existing default into a full monetary judgment, a step that would send a clear signal to other unauthorized streaming operations that ignoring legal proceedings carries severe financial consequences.
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