LONDON: In a significant victory, the Premier League has been authorized by a UK High Court order to disrupt and block illegal streams of its content for the 2018-19 season.
Sky, BT, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, plusnet and EE are the biggest beneficiaries of this decision. Last season, a similar order was passed and the Premier League could not only block 200,000 illegal streams but also remove 450,000 clips of content from social and digital media platforms around the world. Illegal service providers have been penalized and criminally convicted as well for not complying to rules.
“Last season the Premier League operated one of the biggest and most successful anti-piracy programmes in the world and this decision by the High Court is a significant factor in being able to continue that approach,” Premier League director of Legal Services, Kevin Plumb, said.
“A similar Order granted last year was a game-changer for our work in this area, enabling us to block or disrupt nearly 200,000 illegal streams across the 2017/18 season.
“The ability that Premier League clubs have to develop and acquire talented players, to build and improve stadiums and to support communities and schools, is predicated on being able to market, sell and protect commercial rights.
“This makes the protection of our copyright hugely important to the future health of English football and beyond.”
