EU legislators adopt proposal to combat online piracy of live sporting events

[Chewy_fox]

Members of the European Parliament adopted a proposal Wednesday to crack down on illegal broadcasting of live sporting events. This proposal includes the ability to block illegal broadcasts within half an hour.

Live sports broadcasting provides a significant revenue source for event organizers. However, the illegal streaming of live sports has become a growing issue in the EU. Sports events are not a “work” as defined by EU copyright law; the sports events themselves are not subject to copyright protection, although the recording is protected. Dedicated professional websites, which charge a subscription fee or earn income on advertising, often illegally transmit these live sports broadcasts.

The EU parliament called Wednesday for the European Commission to clarify and improve current intellectual property rights for live sports events. Parliament also called on the commission to introduce provisions regarding the rights of sport event organizers, for whom broadcasting rights licensing constitutes 80 percent of their revenue.

The proposal also called for illegal streams to be removed or disabled within 30 minutes, as illegal streams are “most harmful in the first thirty minutes of their appearance online.” The streams should be taken down following a notification by the rights holders or a certified “trusted flagger.”

The proposal is aimed towards the illegal broadcasters, not viewers. It was adopted by 479 votes in favor of the proposal, 171 against, and 40 abstentions.

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