The suit, filed against Los Angeles-based RecordTV.com in US district court for the central district of California, is similar to a suit filed by the MPAA last February against Canadian Web site ICraveTV.com, which eventually led to the site shutting down. It further underscores the growing battle between major studios and Web sites over piracy on the Net.

The suit charges RecordTV with copyright infringement for duplicating and airing TV programmes and movies via the Web without authorisation. The suit also claims trademark infringement and violation of cable TV laws. The studios are asking for an injunction against RecordTV to stop the illegal copying, unauthorised performances and violation of trademark of US copyrighted films and television programmes owned by plaintiffs.