It’s a move that puts Canadian and American broadcasters on the same side of the fence and furthers the most current David and Goliath saga.

It’s a move in which a coalition representing Canada’s biggest private and public broadcasters, and another representing the cftpa members along with Global Television Network, each filed a lawsuit Jan. 31 with the Ontario Superior Court seeking an injunction against the parent company of iCravetv.com, TVRadioNow, and its president William Craig.

Both groups are suing for copyright infringement because website iCravetv is streaming Canadian broadcast signals online.

‘Bill Craig has no place left to hide,’ says Michael McCabe, president and ceo of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. ‘The full weight of Canadian and American law is now being brought to bear against him and his renegade operation.’

Canadian broadcasters are seeking $70 million in statutory damages to date and $1.1 million for each subsequent day of the alleged copyright infringement. They are also demanding punitive damages of $5 million.

‘We are not interested in coming to some settlement with a pirate operation,’ says McCabe.

The suit is scheduled to be heard in Ontario court May 22.

The coalition of producers and Global is seeking statutory damages of $9 million and punitive damages of $5 million. By focusing efforts on copyright infringement, the process is simplified, says Peter Grant of McCarthy Tetrault, legal counsel for the producers group. Likewise, he says, the Copyright Act will not expedite a trademark case.

‘We have entered our application in a commercial list to get it moved expeditiously,’ adds Grant.

Among other things, the cftpa-member lawsuit disputes Craig’s publicized claims that the programs produced by the applicants can be legally broadcast on his website thanks to retransmission exemptions.

Grant is hoping for a determination by the end of spring.

Meanwhile, iCravetv has temporarily stopped operations in compliance with a restraining order issued by a u.s. court in Pittsburgh Jan. 28, but is working on technology to restrict access to the site to Canadian-based viewers.

The order came after a host of u.s. heavyweights, such as Twentieth Century Fox, Disney Enterprises, Columbia TriStar Television, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, abc, cbs, Fox Broadcasting, Time Warner Entertainment, the National Football League and the National Basketball League, filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the webcaster, accusing it of ‘one of the most brazen thefts of intellectual property ever committed.’

‘This is a first-step victory for creative artists, consumers and copyright owners everywhere,’ says Jack Valenti, president and ceo, Motion Picture Association of America.

Craig’s response: ‘We’ve received the order of Judge Ziegler of u.s. district court that was issued…Jan. 28. We are complying fully with the order. We are considering all our strategic, technological and legal options.’

Craig has since been unavailable for further comment.

The u.s. suit alleges both copyright and trademark infringement and the u.s. plaintiffs return to court on Feb. 8 seeking a permanent injunction against iCravetv.

Members of the coalition of broadcasters include ctv, cbc/Radio-Canada, WIC Western International Communications, Rogers Broadcasting and chum.

Members of the cftpa named in the application include Alliance Atlantis Communications and Epitome Pictures.