Advanced Television

PIPCU

London police shut down pirate domains

The Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at City of London Police and anti-piracy agency Web Capio have seized domains that illegally hosted copyrighted content by YouTube supergroup the Sidemen. The domains, somuchcontent.com and sidemencommunity.co.uk, were linked to a site that hosted videos by the Sidemen, including those only available to watch with a subscription. […]

January 30, 2023By Colin Mann

UK agencies issue pirate streaming warnings

Throughout January 2023, UK intellectual property protection organisation FACT and police are visiting homes across the UK, serving notices to individuals to cease illegal streaming activities with immediate effect and informing users of the associated risks, which include criminal prosecution. Over 1,000 individuals have been identified following raids by West Mercia Police in the UK […]

January 10, 2023By Colin Mann

Jail term for STB pirate

A man who made over £2 million (€2.3m) by selling set-top boxes that enabled buyers to watch premium television content without a subscription has been jailed. Halton Mark Anthony Powell, of Hornchurch in east London, launched Droidsticks Ltd. in 2013 and sold the set-top boxes through his shop, website and an online marketplace. An investigation […]

November 14, 2022By Colin Mann

Success for UK regional IP unit

A new unit set up to tackle intellectual property fraud in the north west of England has already seized £1.7 million (€1.98m) worth of fake goods, including clothes, electricals and fireworks. The City of London Police, the lead force for fraud, has partnered with the Intellectual Property Office (IPO)and the North West Regional Organised Crime […]

March 8, 2021By Colin Mann

US feds assist Brazilian anti-piracy effort

Seizure warrants have been executed against three domain names of commercial websites engaged in the illegal reproduction and distribution of copyrighted works in support of a Brazilian-led takedown of digital piracy sites there, dubbed ‘Operação 404’ [Operation 404]. The coordinated federal law enforcement operation targeted online services that provided illegal copies of copyrighted works, including […]

November 6, 2020By Colin Mann

UK agencies target illegal streaming operation

Trading Standards Scotland, Police Scotland and the City of London’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) have joined forces to target a major illegal distributor of premium TV content. The distributor, based in the West of Scotland, is believed to have provided illegal access to premium TV, sports and movie content to dozens of separate […]

October 5, 2020By Colin Mann