This is ridiculous…Infront Sports, the media rights holding agents for the football/soccer World Cup, which is starting next week in Germany, has been sending out pre-emptive “threatening” letters to sites and ISPs which it thinks will/may be doing unauthorized streaming and downloading of the matches (and put up unauthorized images as well). BoingBoing, the most popular blog on the planet, got one letter from the law firm representing Infront…the letter states that the firm “anticipates the possibility of unauthorized streaming and downloading of FIFA World Cup matches.” The letter goes on to warn Boing Boing that Baker & McKenzie (the law firm) will be “actively monitoring your website … to identify unlawful activity and will, if necessary, take appropriate action to ensure the protection of Infront’s rights of those licenses.”
Earlier last month, a Canadian ISP got a similar letter; another Swisss ISP also got the letter; so did another Dutch ISP and probably this German ISP as well.
And to think that this is probably the first global sports event which has such extensive online streaming rights built in. And also, to send one to BoingBoing? Why? What were they thinking?
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