HBO and Showtime are no stranger to online piracy. Their TV-shows are pirated millions of times each month. Yet they haven’t been known to go after sites that host their content illegally yet the upcoming Mayweather v Pacquiao fight has proven to be an exception.
Along with Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Boxing the companies have sued two websites that announced intentions to stream the fight this weekend.
Yesterday the two companies filed a lawsuit at a federal court in Florida targeting the websites boxinghd.net and sportship.org. The sites are accused of planning to stream the upcoming Mayweather v Pacquiao fight.
It is a unique pre-piracy case, as the companies accuse the sites’ owners of various copyright related offenses that have yet to take place.
“There are no authorized online streams of the Coverage for delivery to United States audiences,” the complaint states, adding that the defendants “are seeking to benefit from this high profile, live Fight by infringing the rights of Plaintiffs.”
HBO and Showtime argue that the anticipated stream of the fight will infringe on their rights and cause damages.
The companies have asked the court for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop the sites’ operators from linking to streams of the event. HBO and Showtime have also demanded damages to compensate for the expected losses.
The lawsuit brings up a scary question: can you be charged or sued for something you have yet to do? Time will tell as the case works its way through court. In the meantime it seems to have had the intended effect as one of the two sites have closed up shop.
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