Blog Post

PRESS RELEASE: Dutch Content Pirates Sentenced

AAPA

22nd December 2015

Dutch Content Pirates Sentenced To Community Service, Conditional Imprisonment And Probation

Irdeto and Dutch Police collaboration results in the successful conviction of two control word sharing pirates

Following the successful 2013 raid of five homes in Apeldoorn, Enschede, Vlagtwedde and the Hague, it was announced today that the pirates arrested during these raids have been sentenced at the Zutphen courthouse, The Netherlands. Two defendants received 100 hours of community service, two months of conditional imprisonment and two years' probation. This followed an extensive collaborative effort between The Dutch Police, The Public Prosecution Service, Dutch TV providers and Irdeto to track, investigate and raid a group of individuals offering pirate TV card-sharing subscriptions on auction websites in the Netherlands.

"Pay TV piracy will not be tolerated in The Netherlands, and it is our intent to ensure that these sentences dissuade others from illegal content distribution," said Ger Laning of the Dutch Police . "Piracy poses a severe threat to pay media businesses. By working with technology and anti-piracy experts like Irdeto, we are able to disrupt pirate activity and bring criminals to justice. The Dutch Police will continue to protect the revenues of Dutch pay TV operators by combating this type of cybercrime."

The case began in 2011 when Irdeto and local Dutch TV providers began investigations into several suspects offering control word sharing equipment and illegal pirate subscriptions for sale. Following this initial investigation, Irdeto and the local TV providers jointly referred several cases to the Dutch Police with supporting evidence in 2012. Ongoing investigations revealed that the control word sharing networks in question were also providing unauthorized pirated access to international pay TV channels. Following the successful raids, the evidence was analyzed by The Public Prosecution Service and the defendants were brought to trial.

"Piracy has a negative impact on the pay TV industry, and AAPA members such as Irdeto provide an important service in tracking and investigating those involved in this illegal activity," said Sheila Cassells, Executive Director of the Audiovisual Anti-Piracy Alliance (AAPA) . "Results such as this show those involved in the theft of content that it will be taken seriously by the authorities. AAPA continues to work hard to address the problems posed by piracy and mitigate the effect that the issue has on the industry."

Control word sharing piracy is one of many major threats posed to pay TV operators and broadcasters, which has dramatically increased with growing broadband penetration. Control word sharing 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. In this case, Irdeto was able to prepare detailed evidence regarding the control word sharing networks in question.

"While this only represents the beginning of much larger cases, Irdeto welcomes this latest successful prosecution and will continue working against the criminal operations that target our customers' valuable content," said Mark Mulready, Senior Director, Cyber Services & Investigations, Irdeto. "To reduce revenue loss, businesses must understand the threat that they are facing and rigorously counteract pirate activity. Irdeto, as a trusted security partner and subject matter expert, will continue to work closely with pay TV operators to gather information on criminal activity and also with law enforcement - such as the Dutch Police - to secure convictions."

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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.”