Clampdown on piracy for Anthony Joshua fight
Online streaming sites were hit with copyright takedown notices after a UK judge granted an injunction ahead of a boxing match between Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin this weekend.
On Thursday, September 20, Mr Justice Arnold at the English High Court awarded boxing event organiser Matchroom a two-year order requiring internet service providers (ISPs) to block streaming sites from illegally showing Matchroom’s events.
The ISPs named in the decision are Sky, BT, Plusnet, TalkTalk and Virgin Media.
Matchroom filed the application ahead of Joshua’s fight with Povetkin at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday, September 22.
Sky owns the broadcasting rights to Matchroom’s events and shows them either on a standard or a pay-per-view (PPV) basis.
According to the English High Court, PPV events are the most popular among boxing fans and can attract up to 1.3 million viewers.
Matchroom filed the application in response to the “growing problem” of its live footage being streamed illegally. The application was supported by Sky and not opposed by the other ISPs.
“In particular, there is evidence of very large numbers of infringing streams having been watched for Mr Joshua’s most recent fights, thus depriving both Matchroom and Sky of substantial revenue from the respective PPV events,” said Arnold.
On Sunday, September 23, the day after the fight, one Twitter user, Stream Team UK, said that it kept getting hit with takedown notices over the weekend.
“I suggest all of my clients obtain a VPN [virtual private network] as the way things are going soon all streams will be blocked,” said Stream Team UK, before adding that it was on the “blocklist” for the fight.
A VPN connection is an extension of a private network that includes links across shared or public networks.
Joshua beat Povetkin on Saturday night and, in doing so, recorded his 22nd professional career win and retained his world heavyweight titles.
Matchroom’s victory comes after a successful order obtained by the English Premier League in 2017. In July this year, the court extended the order for the current 2018/2019 season.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Today's top stories
Fed Circuit vacates $140m award in ‘entire market value’ appeal
Tech associations back FTC in Qualcomm FRAND dispute
Voicemail app hits Instagram with TM non-infringement suit
Marques 2018: Brexit update reveals hope despite uncertainties
Marques 2018: Swarovski and Chanel reveal fashion IP difficulties
