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PRESS RELEASE: CARD SHARING PIRATE CONVICTED IN GRONINGEN FOLLOWING COLLABORATION BETWEEN VODAFONEZIGGO, AAPA AND DUTCH POLICE

AAPA

17th July 2018

A card sharing piracy network has been shut down with the operator of the illegal network convicted and sentenced to 240 hours community service and a fine of over €45,000 at a court in Groningen yesterday, following a collaborative investigation led by Dutch Police, VodafoneZiggo and members of AAPA. The 40-year old man was convicted of criminal offences relating to card sharing, resulting from the illegal sharing of Ziggo services. An accomplice of the man was also convicted and sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

The sentencing follows raids carried out in March 2017, during which three active card sharing servers were found, as well as 20 ‘fully-loaded’ Dreamboxes which were being sold via online marketplaces. It was also uncovered during the raid that there were over 300 customers for these illegal services and devices.

“This conviction is a welcome result of the positive collaboration between law enforcement, leading operators like VodafoneZiggo and members of the AAPA to bring content pirates to justice,” said Mark Mulready, Vice President – Cybersecurity Services, Irdeto and Vice President, AAPA . “This is another step in demonstrating that piracy is a serious crime and will not be tolerated. We will continue to work with our members and partners around the globe to counter piracy in all its forms.”

Despite the growth of streaming piracy, card sharing piracy continues to pose a major threat to pay TV operators and broadcasters. This form of piracy occurs when a pirate steals and retransmits a regularly changing control word that is passed between a smart card and a set-top-box (STB), allowing subscribers to watch TV content they have not legitimately paid for.

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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.”