Subscription sharing under scrutiny
The account-sharing service Spliiit versus the streaming giants: court-ordered mediation
Sharing paid subscriptions has become widespread in recent years, driven in particular by rising prices for streaming services.
In response to this practice, platforms such as Netflix and then Disney+ introduced paid sharing options, while tightening usage restrictions in cases of unauthorised sharing. Since 2019, the French start-up Spliiit has offered a service connecting users who wish to share paid subscriptions. In March 2022, the tribunal judiciaire de Paris, hearing an application for interim relief, declined to rule and referred Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+, then acting together within the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), to proceedings on the merits (TJ Paris, 17 March 2022, No. 22/51028).
Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+ have since brought proceedings on the merits, based on claims of unfair competition, parasitism (free-riding), as well as trade mark infringement and breach of terms of use.
Given what is at stake in the dispute, the court has ordered mediation.
For its part, Spliiit claims 1.6 million users, including 320,000 paying users, and offers sharing for more than 300 subscriptions.
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To go further and anticipate developments in subscription sharing and the contractual framework for digital uses, our various areas of expertise allow us to support you in the strategic review of your terms of use, in securing your distribution and partnership models, and in defending against and preventing litigation risks, particularly in relation to unfair competition, parasitism and infringement of intellectual property rights.