Case Explained: DISH NETWORK L.L.C. Plaintiff-Counter v. GABY FRAIFER TELE-CENTER, INC PLANET TELECOM, INC

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Filed: 2026-08-06 Docket: 8:16-cv-02549-TPB-CPT The eleventh-circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment finding the defendants liable for direct copyright infringement. The court held that DISH Network L.L.C. successfully established a prima facie case of infringement by proving valid ownership of the copyrighted Arabic-language works and demonstrating that the defendants’ use of encoders to “push” these works onto their content delivery networks constituted a public performance in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 106(4). The court’s decision rested on three primary legal determinations. First, regarding ownership, the court applied UAE copyright law to determine that the registered works were “Collective Works” rather than “Joint Works,” vesting initial ownership in MBC LLC under Article 26 of UAE Federal Law No. (7) of 2002. The court further ruled that MBC’s U.S. copyright registrations created a statutory presumption of validity under 17 U.S.C. § 410(c), and the defendants waived any challenge to the “work made for hire” designation on those registrations by failing to plead it as an affirmative defense. Second, regarding the transfer of rights, the court applied United States law, specifically 17 U.S.C. §§ 201(d) and 204(a), holding that third-party infringers cannot challenge the sufficiency of written agreements transferring copyright between the original owner and the plaintiff when there is no dispute between those parties. Third, regarding infringement, the court found the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting expert testimony and evidence under Federal Rules of Evidence 702, 803(6), and 901 to prove that the defendants operated encoders within the United States or transmitted works to U.S. users. The court concluded that the use of encoders was an independently sufficient basis for direct infringement liability, rendering it unnecessary to address whether the use of content delivery networks also constituted infringement. As a practical consequence, the district court’s judgment awarding DISH a permanent injunction and $600,000 in statutory damages, along with attorney fees and costs, remains in full force and effect. The defendants are permanently enjoined from distributing the protected programming, and they must pay the assessed monetary penalties. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.