Fight Against Piracy In The Broadcasting Of Sporting Events

In a report approved on Wednesday, MEPs presented proposals to end the growing phenomenon of illegal live broadcasts of sporting events. To combat this problem, they ask the Commission to clarify and improve the existing legal framework on intellectual property rights for live sporting events, currently not subject to copyright protection.

They also call for specific provisions on the rights of organizers, since for them the granting of broadcasting rights is a key source of income, and recall that some Member States have introduced specific legal protection that organizers can benefit from.

Agile Removal of Illegal Content

According to MEPs, the regulations must be reviewed taking into account the specific and time-limited value of live sporting events. They believe that specific measures are necessary to ensure the immediate removal of illegal content, with guarantees. The text calls for retransmissions to be removed or deactivated immediately and no later than thirty minutes after notification by rights holders or a certified “trust flag”.

The Parliament emphasizes the importance of platforms acting quickly by removing content and proposes establishing common criteria in the EU to designate certified “trust indicators”, as well as greater harmonization of procedures and resources of the future Services Law Digital and in other specific proposals of the sector.

Guarantee

The injunction procedures to withdraw illegal sporting events must avoid the arbitrary or excessive blocking of legal content, MEPs insist. Enforcement measures must be proportionate and include the possibility of judicial redress, especially for small and start-up companies.

They also recommend promoting the legal supply of sports content and making it easier for consumers to search on the Internet. Responsibility for illegal 무료스포츠중계 should lie with providers, and not with fans or consumers, the resolution clarifies.

The report was approved with 479 votes in favor, 171 against and 40 abstentions.

Statement

“Piracy of live sporting events is the biggest challenge organizers face. The problem with the existing measures is that their application comes too late. The report calls on the Commission to clarify and adapt existing legislation, including the possibility of issuing court orders for real-time blocking or removal of authorized content,’ said rapporteur Angel Dzhambazki (EPP, Bulgaria) .

Background

In the context of the 2019 copyright directive, the Commission stated that it was assessing the challenges sporting event organizers face in the digital environment, in particular issues related to illegal broadcasting, and committed to monitor Parliament’s proposals to address these challenges. The proposal on the Digital Services Law , which is currently being scrutinized by Parliament, includes measures to deal with this problem, but does not address the challenges faced by specific sectors.