Tuesday, February 1, 2011

UFC Grapples with Justin.tv over Live-Streaming of Events

Zuffa, Inc., the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship has filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Nevada for copyright infringement against Justin.tv. Justin.tv is a website that allows for the streaming of live video through its web portal.

UFC alleges that its pay-per view events are being broadcast on Justin.tv. UFC hired third party vendors to send petitions to take down over 200 video feeds of the October 23, 2010 pay-per view event UFC 121. According to news reports, UFC claims that over 50,000 watched illegal streaming video of UFC 121.

Justin.tv has a terms of use which includes DMCA takedown notices. UFC alleges that Justin.tv’s response has been inadequate. According to a press relase on the UFC website, Zuffa contacted Justin.tv several times over almost a two-year span in attempts to prevent illegal uploading.

It seems likely that Justin.tv is likely to rely on the DMCA safe-harbor provision similar to the arguments made by YouTube in the Viacom lawsuit.

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