The operator of a platform responsible for supplying illegal streams to pirate services around the world, has been convicted and sentenced to 11 months in prison and ordered to pay more than US$90,000 in penalties and damages.
The ruling in a Lebanese court followed a joint criminal complaint by the Premier League, Sky and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE).
The defendant was found guilty of five criminal charges including various intellectual property and cybercrime-related offences.
Kevin Plumb, Premier League General Counsel, said: “The case further demonstrates the Premier League’s commitment to protecting its intellectual property around the world. This is not only important to us and our broadcast partners, but it is essential for the future health of English football and the protection of our fans.”
Matt Hibbert, Group Director of Anti-Piracy at Sky said the partnership with the Premier League, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment and international law enforcement was vital in fighting piracy.
“The Lebanese judicial authorities in Lebanon, in collaboration with the Lebanese Cyber Crime Bureau successfully pursued the prosecution of this individual, who has been involved in the egregious theft of content for many years. We will continue to take steps to shut down organised criminal networks who are intent on stealing our content and whose activities expose consumers to real risks of malware, identity theft and data loss.”
The ruling also ordered that the websites seized be shut down, the defendant’s devices be cleared of all data, and the deletion of all accounts used for client and customer communication.
