Dazn, requests for compensation start from the 2 thousand users already fined for piracy

The fight against the crafty people is truly non-stop. Watching pay TV for free, perhaps even boasting of paying very little instead of having a regular subscription, becomes increasingly difficult. Now, after the completion of the anti-piracy operation announced in May by the Lecce Financial Police, which led to the identification and sanction of over 2,000 users of illegal IPTV services (the so-called “pezzotto”), we have entered a new and decisive phase. The rights holders, in addition to the mere state administrative fine of 154 euros, have decided to evaluate the initiation of compensation actions for the damage caused. In fact, broadcasters have the right to know the names of those who have violated copyright and have been identified and sanctioned, as injured parties who have suffered damage.

the list

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In September, in fact, Dazn and Sky together with the Lega Calcio Serie A had formally asked the judicial authority, as the injured party, for the list of people fined in order to be able to initiate independent compensation actions. All had been identified as part of an operation conducted by the Special Goods and Services Unit of the Financial Police of Rome and the Economic-Financial Police Unit of Lecce, coordinated by the local Prosecutor’s Office. And after the authorization of the competent prosecutor’s office, the list arrived.

the letter

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Now, Dazn has gone on the attack with the ritual request for conciliation (with the aim of keeping the economic request to a minimum compared to the damage suffered, including that of image) which precedes any legal action, which the company reserves the right to undertake. As stated in the registered letter dated 26 September, in order to settle the matter out of court, “a lump sum compensation of 500 euros is requested with the formal commitment not to engage in further harmful behaviour”. If within seven days you decide not to pay, Dazn will be free to initiate appropriate legal proceedings. In this sense, the live streaming platform is therefore limiting itself to using the data exclusively to obtain legitimate compensation for the damages suffered.

the various phases

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The story, as we were saying, began with a vast operation conducted by the Lecce Financial Police, under the coordination of the local Public Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation, supported by specialists in Computer Forensics Data Analysis, targeted a sophisticated organized network that illegally distributed content from pay TV platforms such as Sky, Netflix, Dazn and others through illegal IPTV systems. The operational hub, a pirate signal distribution center located in the Salento capital, supplied thousands of users. The incessant work made it possible to trace a volume of illicit proceeds exceeding 500,000 euros, reinvested in movable and immovable assets, leading to the seizure of cars, properties and 60,000 euros in cash. Four subjects resident in the province of Lecce, including the main suspect, were reported for copyright infringement and self-laundering. But the attention immediately shifted above all to end users. The investigative activities led to the identification and reporting of 2,282 subjects, distributed across 80 Italian provinces. These users, who paid on average around 10 euros a month to access the contents, were initially hit by the administrative fine of 154 euros, provided for by Italian law. In many cases these sanctions have been aggravated due to the repetition of the illicit behaviour.