EPL Hails 'Significant Win' In Ongoing Piracy Battle As Illegal Stream's Proprietor Sentenced

The Premier League has hailed a "significant win" in its "ongoing battle against piracy and Intellectual Property (IP) theft after the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) secured a successful conviction against a website that had been illegally streaming live games," according to SOCCEREX. The individual responsible received a "two-year custodial sentence for fraud, the first time a prison term has been handed down to someone illegally exploiting the Premier League’s rights." The EPL’s legal department worked with FACT from Jan. '12 to "secure the prosecution against the site, which had 10,000 plus subscribers each" paying £29.99 ($47.99) a month to access an "illegal stream of pay-television broadcaster Sky Sports' coverage of Premier League matches" (SOCCEREX, 11/8).