Abu Dhabi convicts content pirate Rebecca Hawkes
| 29 June 2016
The administrator of a pirate website has been convicted of illegally uploading torrents and facilitating illegal streaming of copyrighted TV series and movies by the Abu Dhabi Court.
osnThe culprit was sentenced to six months in jail followed by deportation to his home country and ordered to pay AED 50,000 to Middle East pay-TV operator OSN for the misuse of its intellectual property rights.
Sophie Moloney, general counsel, OSN, said: “The authorities have adopted extreme vigilance to all forms of television piracy, which has resulted in websites streaming illegal content being blocked in the UAE. Stealing movies or television series is an offence, whether it is online or as DVDs from a shop, and the authorities recognise that the financial impact on the legitimate copyright owners will be the same.
“Our efforts against Dish TV India for piracy have led to positive results on ground led by the raids and prompt action by the proactive efforts on the authorities. We have also made significant advances in fighting IPTV piracy. The action against illegal operators will serve as a stern warning against TV piracy. The public can contribute to fighting it by voluntarily staying away from accessing illegal content on any platforms.”
TV piracy – be it via illegal set-top boxes, unauthorised VPN subscriptions, or torrent downloads – costs the Middle East and Africa’s content creation and consumer product industries over US$750 million in losses each year, the International Data Corporation estimates.
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