The 1+1 media group exposed two agencies that placed advertisements on pirated websites
The 1+1 media group, as a producer and right holder of original audio-visual content, has been actively fighting for the observance of intellectual property rights for many years and is making significant efforts to completely eradicate piracy as a phenomenon in the Ukrainian media space.
During this time, the group repeatedly faced violations of its rights and with the help of many successful cases of bringing violators to real criminal responsibility proved that the illegal distribution of content without the appropriate permissions of the right holders cannot and will not remain unnoticed both by them and by state authorities. The same rights protection policy applies to advertising intermediaries who knowingly and for a fee place advertisements on illegal sites, thereby supporting piracy and hindering the development of a culture of legal content consumption in Ukraine.
That is why, continuing to implement a strategy to comprehensively combat piracy, the 1+1 media group, together with lawyers of the media holding group, lawyers of Smartsolutions Law Group, employees of the Cyber Police Department of the National Police of Ukraine and employees of the investigation and prosecutor's office, exposed two advertising agencies that were engaged in placing advertisements on the web - a site that illegally broadcast films, series, television programs and other audiovisual content to a wide audience.
Yesterday, February 27, 2020, within the framework of open criminal proceedings, law enforcement officers conducted searches at the addresses of the activities of established persons connected with the activities of advertising agencies and involved in the commission of these actions, as well as their places of residence. In the course of investigative actions, server equipment, computer equipment, documentation and draft records were found and seized, indicating involvement in a criminal offense.
"Currently, the actions of the suspects can be qualified as forming an independent component of the crime under Art. 176 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, according to the current wording of which illegal reproduction, distribution of works of science, literature and art, computer programs and databases, as well as illegal reproduction, distribution of performances, phonograms, videograms and broadcast programs, their illegal replication and distribution on audio and video cassettes, diskettes, other media, camcording, cardsharing or other intentional violation of copyright and related rights, as well as financing of such actions, if it caused material damage," said Andriy Miroshnychenko, head of the content department of the Cyber Police Department National Police of Ukraine.
Since the condition for providing access to illegally obtained content on this website is for viewers to view advertisements of gambling businesses, financial services, online electronics stores, etc. prohibited in Ukraine, such actions of advertising agencies for placing advertisements on sites with pirated content, in accordance with the amendments to of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, is one of the ways of direct financing of piracy.
Vyacheslav Mienko, GR director of the 1+1 media group, noted that "this case is the first criminal case in Ukraine that was opened regarding the financing of piracy based on the current rule of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which came into force in April 2017. The composition of the offense is extremely complex, and therefore, even despite the constant and thorough work of a group of lawyers, advocates and representatives of the Cyber Police, it took more than two years to study it and lead to the opening of a criminal case. But this first case proves the general rule - if you have a goal and desire to achieve it, there is little that is impossible. We are very grateful to the Cyber Police for their professional and efficient work in solving this crime and we hope that the criminals will be punished as required by law."
"Piracy is a very shameful phenomenon for our country, which not only causes a lot of damage, but also has an extremely negative impact on the image and investment attractiveness for the necessary growth of the economy. But pirates are not "Robin Hoods" who steal from supposedly rich copyright holders and give away the stolen goods to less well-off citizens for free. They have several schemes for monetizing their activities, one of which consists in receiving income from advertising," commented Oleksandr Paputsia, managing partner of Smartsolutions Law Group .
The story of TSN: https://cutt.ly/9r7qjfC
News on the Cyber Police website.
