Broadcaster Sky sued Co Wexford man David Dunbar for allegedly infringed its copyright by operating an illegal internet protocol television (IPTV) service called “IPTV is Easy”.

On the initiation of proceedings in May 2025, the High Court granted Sky both an Anton Piller order and a Mareva injunction — requiring Dunbar to preserve potential evidence and to grant access to Sky officials under the supervision of an independent solicitor.

However, the court heard the independent solicitor was refused access to Dunbar’s property on two separate occasions, despite explaining “in layman’s terms” that this would likely be considered as contempt of court and could lead to his imprisonment.

Dunbar subsequently took actions including destroying all of the data on his computer, deleting Telegram accounts which he used to communicate with resellers and customers, and dissipating assets, selling his car and transferring funds from Revolut and Binance.

In a judgment handed down yesterday, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said “such acts must be viewed as serious, deliberate, wilful, and as a gross affront to the integrity of the court” and would require a “punitive sanction”.

In mitigation, the judge noted, among other things, that Dunbar had consented to judgment being entered against him for €480,000 in damages for copyright infringement, plus costs, and had provided Sky with information about his operation, though it was impossible to get a “full perspective”.

In the circumstances, Mr Justice Sanfey concluded that the imposition of a fine was “sufficient punishment” and ordered Dunbar to pay €30,000 to Sky by 31 October 2025.

However, he stressed: “I want to make it very clear… that the sentence imposed by this court should not be taken as one which is likely to apply to any party in the future who disregards and frustrates orders of this court in circumstances similar to those in the present case.

“The defendant has come very close indeed to being sent to prison; future contemnors in similar circumstances should consider that they may not be so fortunate, as every case depends on its own facts.”

He also observed that Sky was alerted to the illegal IPTV operation by means of a “simple tip-off” from the Federation Against Copyright Theft.

“Any persons currently conducting similar illegal operations, or contemplating the provision of such services in the future, should consider carefully how vulnerable such operations are to discovery and exposure, with potentially calamitous consequences for the operator,” he said.