Amazon is fielding a major lawsuit from Russian internet giant Rambler Group, which claims Twitch has violated its rights to broadcast English Premier League games. Rambler is suing the Amazon-owned streaming site for 180 billion roubles, the equivalent of about $2.82 billion, according to Reuters and multiple reports from Russian publications.
A Russian court blocked access to English Premier League games on Twitch this week. The Moscow District Court plans to hear the case on Dec. 20.
Rambler is seeking to ban Twitch in Russia, the third-largest market for the streaming company. Rambler is also seeking damages for the allegedly pirated matches.
An attorney for Twitch told Russia’s Kommersant newspaper that the company just provides the underlying streaming platform for creators and isn’t responsible for the content itself.
Amazon is the second U.S. and Seattle-area company to find itself entangled with Rambler and Russian law enforcement over the past week. Russian police raided NGINX and detained its founders briefly, according to Bloomberg and The Moscow Times. Rambler claims its exclusive rights to NGINX were violated.
NGINX was acquired by Seattle-based F5 Networks earlier this year for $670 million. The startup’s original open-source web server code was developed by its co-founder when he worked for Rambler, which is the origin of the dispute. Bloomberg News describes the NGINX raid as “the latest example of the widespread use of Russian law enforcement in corporate disputes.”
