The UFC is collaborating with the NFL and NBA to lobby for instant takedowns of pirated live sports streams by online service providers, aiming to modify the U.S.’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act(DMCA), claiming that the delay in removing illegal streams significantly impacts their revenue.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is cooperating with the NFL and NBA in a coordinated effort to combat illegal streaming. The sports organizations submitted a letter to the United States Patent and Trademark Office on August 23, requesting an update to the DMCA, or Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The coalition hopes to accelerate DMCA responses to pirated content notifications, pushing for immediate takedowns rather than accept the more common response timeframe of a few hours.
The trio of organizations argue that the current response times are especially detrimental to sports broadcasts, which garners the most value when aired live. They maintain that by the time illegally shared live streams are taken down, the rights holders no longer garner significant benefit. The Verge cites the letter’s claim of a potential loss of up to $28 billion annual revenue for the global sports industry as a result of these delays.
The DMCA, legislated in 1998, predates the advent of live streaming. The UFC, NBA, and NFL argue that the DMCA’s outdated language is ill-suited for the current digital environment. The organizations point out that the intention of the DMCA, established before internet-based live streaming became widespread, poorly addresses issues related to the infringement of live content. They are urging the DMCA to revise its language to reflect the need for pirated content to be removed “instantaneously or near-instantaneously,” rather than “expeditiously,” to effectively curtail the window of illegal livestreaming.
UFC’s president, Dana White, avows that he has been challenging online piracy for over a decade and will continue to do so. He noted that the UFC’s diligent efforts have discouraged illicit broadcasting of their content. The push for change in the DMCA law by three of the world’s most powerful sports entities could have extensive ramifications for the greater entertainment industry. It remains to be seen whether their collective effort will incite governmental action.