Netherlands: BREIN targets illegal ‘IPTV’ providers, both large and small

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The BREIN Foundation, a Dutch anti-piracy group, tracked down 19 illegal IPTV providers during 2022, bringing their total since 2017 to about 370 operators.

In December 2022, BREIN announced a win against a large-scale torrent linking pirate that had taken refuge in the Dominican Republic.

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But also in December, a small online trader from Roermond (NL) was was contacted by BREIN.  In lieu of paying a fine of 1000 euros per day (or part of a day), or, 500 euros per individual hyperlink offered, he paid a fine of 500 euros for the illegal trade in which he was caught and was done with it.

Intentional copyright infringement through the sale of illegal IPTV subscriptions is punishable as a crime. BREIN does not exclude the possibility that it will file a report in the event of recidivism or large-scale organized trafficking. The policy of the government, however, is that the rights holders themselves are primarily responsible for enforcing their rights. They have set up the BREIN foundation for this purpose. Criminal law is the last resort.

BREIN’s member organizations include the Motion Picture Association (MPA), Federation of Copyright Interests Foundationthe Association of Organizations that Collectively Exploit Intellectual Property ( Association VOI©E) and a variety of other Dutch and European media organizations.

Read the BREIN news release: Small illegal providers are not spared either.  January 9, 2023. BREIN (Auto-translated from Dutch to English by Google Translate)

Why it matters

“Although physical stores are also being tackled, (our anti-piracy efforts) mostly concern online sales,” says BREIN director Tim Kuik. “In addition, BREIN does not limit itself to just the big fish, even small fry that think they are getting a piece of the pie does not escape the dance.”

Illegal IPTV, often plug & play installed on media boxes, gives unauthorized access to thousands of TV channels for around five to ten euros per month, including premium sports and video-on-demand with all popular films and series from pay channels, but also music stations and radio channels. Not only this type of sale is infringing, but also its use by consumers. As a rule, customers pay six months or a whole year in advance, but lose their money when the offer is taken offline.

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