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First Strike Against Digital Pirate—Under New “Protecting Lawful Streaming Act”

On October 28, 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York indicted a Minnesota man for violating the “Protecting Lawful Streaming Act”, signed into law in December 2020.

It appears this is the first time the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged anyone under this new law.

In January of this year, I published a blog post titled, U.S. Anti-Piracy Legislation Passed – Illegal Streaming Penalties Increased, where I wrote,

“This law’s aim is to target operators… ,”

Essentially the Minnesota man was charged with illegally streaming content (a.k.a. “illicit digital transmission”) from four major U.S. sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL, respectively.)

Here’s how the specific “illicit digital transmission” charge in part reads:

“…the defendant, willfully, and for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain, offered and provided to the public a digital transmission service that was primarily designed and provided for the purpose of publicly performing works protected under Title 17… by means of a digital transmission without the authority of the copyright owner or the law…

I also wrote in my January blog post:

“Notably, the additional section raises the willful streaming of copyrighted material for profit from a ‘misdemeanor” to a “felony” and up to 10 years imprisonment.”

That’s serious business.

A recent Torrent Freak article titled, “Feds Indict ‘Pirate’ Sports Streams Operator Who Settled with Hollywood” does a terrific job of putting the case into context.

ADDITIONAL COPYRIGHT/PIRACY RELATED- IP PROBE BLOG POSTS:

PI License May be Required to Investigate Digital Copyright Infringement – If Evidence is Used in a Court Proceeding – UPDATE

PI License May be Required to Investigate Digital Copyright Infringement — If Evidence is Used in a Court Proceeding

Audio Visual Piracy – Cybercrime as a Service

Copyright Trolls and Their Sinister Ways–UPDATE

UK Report: Taking the Profit Out of AV Piracy – REVIEW – Introduction

Introducing: New Copyright Pirate Hunter Podcast

Copyright Trolls And Their Sinister Ways

Belgium Law Student Asks for Opinion re: EU Cross-Border-Copyright Law

Professor Allegedly Steals Student’s Research/Trade Secrets–Is Blockchain Technology the Solution?

Bikini Copyright Battle – Will the True Designer Please Stand Up?

Introducing a Blockchain IP Protection Startup Company – “Vaultitude”

Digital Content Ecosystem – IP Protection

Major Illegal Musical File-Sharing Copyright Thief Sentenced in U.S. Federal Court

Digital Piracy Crackdown – UK Report (Summary)

Why Media Companies Should Screen the Backgrounds of Copyright Infringement Claimants

IP Protection: 8 Things Media Companies Need to Do Before Using Third-Party Contractors

Transnational Pursuit of Sports Content Piracy

Proactive Pursuit of Entertainment Content Pirates

Staggering Counterfeit and Piracy Report

DisclaimerIPProbe.Global is a service to the professional IP community. While every effort has been made to check information in this blog, we provide no guarantees or warranties, express or implied, regarding the content provided in IPProbe.Global. We disclaim all liability and responsibility for the qualification or accuracy of representations made by the contributors or for any disputes that may arise. It is the responsibility of the readers to independently investigate and verify the credentials of such persons and the accuracy and validity of the information provided by them. This blog is for general information only and not intended to provide legal or other professional advice.

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Ron Alvarez is an IP investigations and protection consultant and writer in New York City. He is a former NYPD lieutenant where he investigated robbery, narcotics, internal affairs, and fine art theft cases. Ron has since coordinated the private investigation of international fraud and money laundering cases, as well as IP-related investigations and research involving the four pillars of IP: copyright, patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. Ron is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and earned a B.A. in Government and Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Manhattan. He has written a number of articles for various investigative publications, as well as published "The World of Intellectual Property (IP) Protection and Investigations" in November 2021.

1 comment on “First Strike Against Digital Pirate—Under New “Protecting Lawful Streaming Act”

  1. THOMAS MANLEY

    THANK YOU RON
    I will be interest to track the prosecutions under this new law
    Very Interesting
    Well Done
    Tom

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