In August 2021, Triller broadcast Paul vs. Askren, a record breaking PPV boxing even. Triller soon learned that over 2 Million individuals in the United States watched the fight through illegally pirated streams from such streaming sites like FilmDaily.com, AccessTVPro.co, Online2Livestream.us, Crackstreamslive.com and eight other similar sites.
Triller believed that these sites violated its copyright of the match by copying and streaming the event and, in some cases, turned a profit by charging viewers via services like PayPal for access to the video. Most of the illegal broadcast was done by way of Youtube and Google.
On November 17, a judgement was awarded in the United States District Court for the Central Court of California against Arvin De La Santos, for $150,000 in damages for its Broadcasting of the event on its Youtube channel YourEXTRA. The Court also awarded more than $22,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs
Triller still has a number of pending cases against other pirates. “We are glad that were able to bring due justice and hopefully this win highlights the very real stakes for those involved in piracy,” according to a Triller spokesperson. “We aren’t forcing anyone to watch our PPV, just as no one is forcing anyone to buy a watch, but like there are consequences for stealing a watch versus paying for it, pirating a PPV should, and hopefully is starting to, have similar consequences.”
Further information
PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF MOTION AND MOTION TO FIX AMOUNT OF DAMAGES,ATTORNEYS’ FEES, AND COSTS. United States District Court for the Central District of California. CASE NO.: 2:21-cv-04906-DSF-PVC
Press release: Triller Wins Landmark Case Relating to The Piracy of Triller’s Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren PPV event. Accesswire, Nov 18, 2022
Why it matters
“This is the first victory in helping stop what is nothing more than pure and simple theft, but certainly not the last” said the Triller spokesperson.
“What we hope to help people understand is that when we (or any company) puts on an event the PPV is the product. Stealing it is no different than breaking into a store and stealing a $50 watch, except in this case they are stealing 2 million of them” he continued.
Events of this magnitude can cost up to or north of $100 Million dollars and if piracy is not stopped, eventually it is not just the companies who will suffer but the customers, as at some point they will longer be financially feasible to put on, unless piracy is stopped. 2 million illegal views is equal to over $100 Million dollars of stollen product.
