PIRACY

Piracy is the sale of goods that infringe copyright or design rights. It concerns both physical and digital goods. Piracy entails illegally copying and selling physical goods such as copies of copyright content in the form of CDs and DVDs; replica design objects; Technological Protection Measures (TPM) circumvention devices; TV decoder smartcards; fully loaded set-top boxes or sticks; digital content, such as copied software, activation keys for software, video games or databases; hacked accounts for streaming services; Computer-Aided Design (CAD) files; and e-books . Piracy is now almost exclusively a digital crime as the distribution of physical copies of audio-visual content has almost entirely disappeared . Digital content is now widely available via a variety of applications and platforms. The media consumption preferences of a large share of consumers have shifted towards using streaming services. An increasing number of consumers choose digital content platforms over traditional television offerings. While improving digital infrastructures is making the EU more competitive in the global market, faster and more widely available internet connections also increase the availability and accessibility of pirated content. Legal digital content platforms have been widely successful, driven by the rapid growth of the number of subscriptions and the broad range of content on offer. The accessibility and availability of these competitively priced legal offers has resulted in a slight decrease in the number of users accessing, downloading or streaming content from illegal online sources . However, a growing volume of available content continues to be illegally accessed online. A large number of websites provide unlawful access to copyrighted content such as films, music, TV programmes, games, e-books and software. The distribution of illegal Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services is an increasing concern for intellectual property rights holders. IPTV is a technology that allows live and on-demand streaming of television content online. Criminals have taken advantage of this expanding market by selling access to illegal IPTV platforms to an increasing number of subscribers. They also generate profit by providing free access to illicit digital content and from advertisements on the website . The websites illegally distributing audio-visual content are hosted on servers across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Copyrighted material is also shared via peer-to-peer (P2P) networks using Torrent or Direct Connect protocols. The cost of offshore hosting is low and hosting companies sometimes operate as shell companies registered in non-EU countries . Hosting servers have been located in jurisdictions such as China, India, Turkey, and, increasingly, in the EU. Criminal networks are involved in the copyright-infringing distribution of content via illicit streaming services. Copyright-protected audio-visual content is more vulnerable in digital format, and is often the target of illicit content wholesale resellers. Pirated goods also include illegal software licences. Unlike other copyrighted digital content, software is subject to the rule of exhaustion , also known as the first sale doctrine, and the resale of secondhand software is legitimate. However, the rule of exhaustion does not apply to back-up copies of computer programs. Therefore, back-up copies offered for sale to third parties should be considered illegal. Activation keys for software and video games, and hacked access accounts to online streaming services or databases, are further examples of pirated digital goods that have progressively replaced the sale of illegal copies of copyrighted content on physical support (CD, DVD, etc.). The sale of Computer-Aided Designs (CAD) for the 3D printing of objects protected by design rights or other IP rights is also emerging.

When a subscription is requested for access to digital content, the price offered is attractive compared to those offered on the legal market. Some websites provide free access to content and profit is made via advertising. Pirated content and illegal content supply services are advertised on social media platforms ( 128). Payments are requested through online payment providers – often in cryptocurrency. During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people in lockdown looked to digital entertainment to cope with social isolation. Criminals quickly responded to this burgeoning demand by offering high-quality streaming services at a time when legitimate providers had agreed to reduce streaming quality to avoid EU broadband overload. Illegal providers offered a variety of content, and lured customers with special discounts, using attractive terms such as ‘free’, ‘cheap’ and ‘fast’. Fraudulent advertisements on illicit websites, messaging applications and social media offered low-cost subscription access to illegal IPTV services ( 129). An analysis of online communications identified a notable increase in piracy-related discussions during the months at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 ( 130). Nonetheless, despite this increase detected in film piracy in the spring of 2020, the overall decline of digital piracy continued during the pandemic, with a decreased by 6 % in 2019 and by 34 % in 2020 ( 131). Streaming websites and apps could expose younger viewers to inappropriate content ( 132). The market for illicit streaming devices (ISDs) such as set-top boxes is expected to grow over the coming years ( 133). Such devices are distributed via retailers and online platforms. Many consumers buy these boxes unaware of the copyright infringement and of the danger these devices can pose to their safety. Users illegally stream content and undermine copyright infringement without paying the appropriate subscriptions. ISDs can cause interference with radio frequencies used by maritime radio, aeronautical radar or mobile and wireless military communications. In addition, there are risks associated with electrical safety since irregularities such as poor socket connections or overheating entail the risk of fire. Digital piracy is a lucrative market for criminals with limited risk of detection and low penalties. Criminals providing illegal IPTV services generate nearly EUR 1 billion in unlawful revenue for the EU ( 135). Piracy affects financially creative industries and deprives artists, creators and media distributors of revenues ( 136). Users, who stream or download illicit content online, face the risk of malware infections and criminals accessing their personal and financial information ( 137). The criminals involved are adept at using advanced technical countermeasures to avoid law enforcement. In some cases, digital content piracy is linked to other cybercrime activities such as crypto-jacking or the distribution of malware ( 138). Criminals are involved in these activities as part of a number of roles, such as customer support, website and server administrators, content collectors, storage and network infrastructure experts. Much of the criminal profit is generated by online advertising, paid subscriptions and malware attacks. Websites offering pirated content accept donations via torrent sites (mainly in cryptocurrencies)

Piracy

1. access accounts to online streaming services or databases
2. access to illegal IPTV platforms to subscribers
3. activation keys for software
4. activation keys for video games
5. back-up copies offered for sale to third parties
6. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) files
7. content illegally accessed online
8. copies of copyright content in the form of CDs and DVDs
9. crypto-jacking or distribution of malware
10. databases
11. digital content
12. distribution of illegal Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) services
13. e-books
14. fully loaded set-top boxes or sticks
15. hacked accounts for streaming services
16. illegal distribution of audio-visual content
17. illegal software licences
18. illicit streaming services
19. providing free access to illicit digital content
20. replica design objects
21. software
22. Technological Protection Measures (TPM) circumvention devices
23. TV decoder smartcards
24. unlawful access to copyrighted content such as films, music, TV programmes, games, e-books and software
25. video games