Federal authorities in the United States have seized nearly 400 internet sites caught illegally streaming FIFA World Cup finals in violation of copyright law, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said June 26.
“The unauthorized broadcast of World Cup matches violates intellectual property rights and fuels criminal organizations,” said Director Ivan Arvelo of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
“Through Operation Offsides and strong partnerships with law enforcement and the private sector, we identified and seized hundreds of domains, disrupting those who steal and distribute copyrighted content,” Arvelo said.
According to the seizure warrant filed today in the Eastern District of Virginia, the domains seized were sued over illegally offering users copyright-protected content in the form of real-time streams of the matches….