How much and what pirated video content did internet users consume during the pandemic period? What is the remedy in practice for sharing and streaming cases? Does cutting off pirate sites from funding sources effectively shut down their activities? These questions were answered by speakers representing the Signal Association at the scientific conference ‘ICT Crime of the 21st Century’ at the Naval Academy in Gdynia on 15 June 2022.
Teresa Wierzbowska, President of the Association, focusing on the last two pandemic years, spoke about research into the scale of piracy, monitoring of websites and methods of counteracting the theft of TV content. The “Follow the money” campaign was introduced to conference participants by Karolina Makowska (TVN S.A.).
Michał Otrębski (NAGRA) spoke about white intelligence, i.e. tools in identifying infringements of intellectual property rights. Lawyer Tomasz Szymula (cooperating with Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.) focused on evidentiary problems in sharing proceedings.
Łukasz Sternowski (Cyfrowy Polsat S.A.) argued that damage calculations made by injured companies are increasingly upheld in courts. Using several examples of judgments, he pointed out that the damages awarded corresponded in full to the calculations provided by the rights holders. The flagship example is the judgment of the District Court in Białystok, which imposed on the owner of a pirate streaming service a compensation fine of PLN 48 million.