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PRESS RELEASE: AAPA welcomes 3 successful convictions in Germany

AAPA

20th February 2015

AAPA welcomes 3 successful convictions for operating card sharing servers in Germany

In three separate criminal cases involving AAPA member, Sky Deutschland, local courts in Germany have issued fines and suspended prison sentences to operators of different card sharing servers in Recklinghausen, Munich and Pforzheim .

The case in the local court of Bochum resulted in a suspended prison sentence of 1 year and 6 months plus a fine of €2000 being imposed on the principal offender of a card sharing operation in Recklinghausen. The Bochum court stated in its decision that the card sharing operation, which had 423 users caused damage of €430,000, creating an income of €143,000 for the card sharing server operator and a loss to the fiscal authority of €34,000.

The court of Munich convicted a local card sharing server operator and issued a suspended prison sentence of 1 year and 10 months and a fine of €1700. The Munich court decreed that the card sharing activity was computer fraud on a commercial scale; the fraud being committed jointly with the users. The court cases against the users are being handled locally at the place of residence of the users: the first ones have already been concluded with the users being convicted.

The case in the local court of Pforzheim resulted in a penalty order with a suspended prison sentence of 1 year.

Andreas Rudloff, VP Platform Services and Security, Sky Deutschland, said that: "These decisions demonstrate that offering illegal access to pay TV content as well as the use of illegal content is drawing increasing attention from law enforcement. Investigations by specially trained investigation teams in combination with experienced and specialised prosecutors enable courts to decide on such criminal cases by weighing up the underlying criminal intent and allow them to apply appropriate criminal legislation".

n welcoming these German court cases Sheila Cassells, Executive Director of AAPA, commented that: "AAPA has identified a need to increase the knowledge and expertise of law enforcement officers, including prosecutors, in this increasingly complex criminal area. These decisions support the strategy of AAPA and its members to support training of law enforcement agents on a national and international level. We will continue to develop and implement training on audiovisual internet piracy."

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Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance 2024-2029 EU Manifesto

by AAPA • 1 October 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) publishes its first Manifesto, linked here . The document aims to recognise past efforts of EU legislators when it comes to content protection and the fight against copyright infringement, whilst admitting that more can and should be done to address this growing issue. Miruna Herovanu, Executive Director of AAPA said : " After years of laying the groundwork to combat online piracy it’s time for EU policymakers and beyond to fully acknowledge that decisive, targeted measures are needed at the European level. The rise of digital theft demands action. We call for strong political resolve to end the theft of our members' content. We're ready to support every stakeholder—law enforcement, policymakers, and industry representatives—to dismantle criminal networks and protect European consumers from harm."

AAPA ANNOUNCES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

by AAPA • 28 May 2024

The Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) has announced the appointment of Miruna Herovanu as its Executive Director. Miruna was previously the Director at the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand in Europe in charge of Intellectual Property and Competition policies. She took up her position with AAPA on 27 May 2024 and will be based in Brussels. Miruna will replace Sheila Cassells who is retiring as Executive Vice President of AAPA and will report on a day-to-day basis to the two Co-Presidents, Mark Mulready, VP of Cyber Services at Irdeto and Oliver Pribramksy, Head of IP Protection and Committees at the Deutsche Fussball Liga. She will be responsible for the implementation of the strategy agreed by AAPA members, managing relationships with law enforcement agencies such as Europol, Eurojust, INTERPOL and the European Institutions, delivery of AAPA’s Working Group goals and general management of the Alliance. Mark Mulready said that: “We are delighted to appoint someone of Miruna’s calibre and experience to become the Executive Director of AAPA. Miruna’s commitment to copyright protection is well-known. Her knowledge of the Brussels institutions and the EUIPO will stand AAPA in good stead for future policy developments. A priority will be for Miruna to work closely with AAPA members, the EUIPO and the European Institutions to deliver on, inter alia, the goals of combatting online piracy of sports and other live events recommendation.” Miruna Herovanu commented that: “My professional experience demonstrated that piracy is an ever-growing issue that eats at the heart of Europe’s most important industries. This is a golden opportunity and a new professional challenge that will help further develop my passion for and commitment to protecting copyright. Being able to work with and support industry experts and practitioners in AAPA, law enforcement, the European Institutions and other trade associations is essential to the fight against piracy. I am excited to be taking on this role.”