The NBA, NFL and UFC want instant DMCA takedowns. A goal that will be very long and difficult to achieve.
Three major US sports leagues want to expedite content takedown requests under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). In a letter obtained by TorrentFreakthe UFC, the NBA and the NFL urge theUS Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at make the process of removing illegal live streams almost instantaneous. The organizations say the global sports industry loses up to $28 billion from those watching via pirated streams.
NBA, NFL and UFC want instant DMCA takedowns
“The increasing piracy of live sporting events is causing great harm to our businesses,” the legal representatives of the UFC, NBA and NFL state in their letter. The leagues say online service providers often take “hours or even days” to respond to requests to remove content – leaving illegal sports streams plenty of time to finish unremoved. “This is particularly damaging to our societies given the very temporal nature of live sports content.”
The heart of the complaint concerns Section 512 of the DMCA, which states that the content must be removed “promptly”. The UFC, NBA and NFL would like to change this word to “instantly or almost instantly” to solve their problem. “This would be a relatively small, non-controversial update to the DMCA that could be included in broader reforms currently being considered by Congress or even handled separately,” it reads.
A goal that will be very long and difficult to achieve
The leagues are also asking the USPTO to consider stricter requirements for online service providers to verify users who post livestreams. They ask for “special verification measures”, including blocking the possibility of broadcasting via newly created accounts or with few subscribers. “Some [fournisseurs] already impose measures like these, which shows that these measures are possible, practical and important tools to reduce illegal streaming.”
This letter is a first step, but the road will still be long for the UFC, the NBA and the NFL if they want to change the DMCA. This law, signed by Bill Clinton in 1998, has already faced many requests for modification since then, for very varied needs. This requires Congress to pass legislation, which is neither quick nor easy.
2023-08-31 09:00:00
#NBA #NFL #UFC #instant #DMCA #takedowns
