UFC Attorney: People that steal our stuff are not our fans
Several days ago the UFC obtained user information from Greenfeedz.com, a website that charged individuals to watch pirated PPV events….
Several days ago the UFC obtained user information from Greenfeedz.com, a website that charged individuals to watch pirated PPV events.
The number of customer records is “voluminous,” according to Julie Cohen Lonstein, a lawyer with an anti-piracy firm representing the UFC.
Lonstein, who previously targeted commercial infringers such as bars/restaurants, said the legal damages pursued by the UFC aren’t limited to the cost of a PPV event.
“There wouldn’t be any sense in asking people to pay what they should have paid,” said Lonstein. “Otherwise, there’s no future deterrent to piracy. So Zuffa has the right to request significantly more under the copyright violations and the [Digital Millennium Copyright Act].”
UFC chief legal counsel Lawrence Epstein said “millions” have been recovered from those who directly profited from such activity.
“I think through this seizure, I think we’re going to be able to find lots of names, emails, telephone numbers and sometimes even addresses to identify those people that are watching illegally,” Epstein said .
“We love our fans,” Epstein added. “We’ve got some of the greatest fans in the world, and all the success we’ve had with the UFC is directly attributable to those fans. But people that steal our stuff – they’re not our fans. If you’re a huge (GSP) fan, would you steal from him? I don’t think so. So we love our fans, we respect our fans, but people who steal from us, frankly, aren’t our fans.”