UFC: We’ve lost ‘millions and millions’ to piracy
“We have an obligation to our customers and those athletes to continue to pursue the people who don’t want to pay for the goods and services they receive.”
The UFC made headlines last night when a story broke that they shut down and sued a website offering pirated UFC content. Today a representative for the promotion gave more detail on their effort:
Individuals who settle sign a confidentiality agreement, said Lonstein, who declined to disclose figures on the typical dollar amount paid to the UFC. A recent report cited one unanswered lawsuit from a previous website target, Greenfeedz.com, that netted the promotion $11,948.70 in damages and legal fees.
Lonstein said pirates are sued on the basis of copyright law and the Communications Act of 1934, which regulates communications commerce domestically and abroad, but declined to go into further specifics about the UFC’s legal approach to curbing piracy.
She would not say how much money had been recovered as the result of the legal actions, but said the figure over the past year is a fraction compared to what the UFC has lost with piracy. UFC chief legal officer Kirk Hendrick said the promotion’s losses are millions and millions of dollars yearly.
There’s no shortage, unfortunately, of people who will try to take a shortcut, Hendrick said. We have an obligation to our customers and those athletes to continue to pursue the people who don’t want to pay for the goods and services they receive.