A court has ordered the blocking of thousands of IP addresses which have been identified as having been illegally broadcasting Italian and Spanish league matches via IPTV service subscriptions and will now be blocked from continuing to provide content when the new season begins.
Mr Justice Ian Spiteri Bailey ordered telecommunications companies Epic, Melita and Go to block illegal and unlicensed broadcasts of Italian and Spanish league matches, which may lead to an interruption of service for local IPTV customers.
Go and Melita television subscribers will not be affected, and TSN is the only station licensed and authorised to broadcast La Liga games in Malta. TSN subscribers will be able to follow the matches, including the English Premier League and Italian Serie A.
Audit firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers prepared a report which identified a substantial number of IP addresses in Malta which are suspected to have been illegally transmitting or streaming content, specifically Serie A matches and the First and Second Division matches of the Spanish league.
This was done without the proper licence and authorisation and found in breach of intellectual property rights and violating copyright.
The content was being accessed via websites, mobile device apps and other software and electronic devices, PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ legal representative told the court.
Spiteri Bailey was informed that while the case was ongoing, the service providers had reached an out-of-court settlement, described in court as a “compromise agreement” with Infront Sports and La Liga.
Spiteri Bailey ordered that this agreement should not be published and instead remain sealed in the possession of the Court Registrar and opened only in the event of a dispute between the parties on the agreement. This was done despite the agreement forming part of the acts of the case.
The court ordered PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PWC) Malta to continue its investigation for the identification of more IP addresses in Malta which were illegally providing streaming services.
The judge ordered the three internet service providers to block the IP addresses listed in the report or any other addresses identified at any time by Infront Sports or La Liga before or during the football season. These IP addresses will be unable to transmit or stream direct matches for the 2022/2023 season.
These internet service providers must be informed of the games in writing not less than 96 hours in advance and should receive a list of IP addresses which must be blocked up to 24 hours before the match.