Major Sports Leagues Push for Quick DMCA Takedowns

The UFC, NBA, and NFL have requested the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to expedite the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown process. In a letter shared by TorrentFreak and reported by The Verge, the sports leagues emphasized the need for swift removal of illegal livestreams. They highlighted that the sports industry is suffering significant financial losses, estimated at $28 billion, due to fans opting for pirated live feeds instead of legitimate paid options.

“The rampant piracy of live sporting events is causing tremendous harm to our businesses,” legal representatives for the UFC, NBA and NFL argued in the letter. The leagues say it often takes ISPs “hours or even days” to remove offending content — giving illegal sports streamers plenty of time to complete an event without being removed. “This is particularly damaging to our businesses given the unique time sensitivity of live sports content.”

At the heart of the complaint is the language of Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which requires the content to be removed “promptly.” The UFC, NBA and NFL want the wording changed “immediately or almost immediately” to help their revenue woes. “This would be a relatively modest and non-controversial update to the DMCA that could be incorporated into broader reforms being considered by Congress or dealt with separately,” the sent letter said.

The letter did not address sports fans’ distaste for regional blackouts, which many viewers are likely to use pirated feeds to bypass.

The leagues are also asking the USPTO to consider stricter requirements for online service providers to vet users who broadcast live. They ask for “special security measures,” including preventing streaming from newly created accounts or accounts with few subscribers. “Some [ISPs] are already implementing such measures, demonstrating that the measures are feasible, practical and important tools to reduce streaming piracy,” the letter reads.

Sending a letter is the first step in announcing your intentions, but the UFC, NBA, and NFL likely have a long way to go if they want to change the DMCA. Signed into law by Bill Clinton in 1998, the law has faced numerous calls for change over the following decades — both from media companies that want stricter measures and from users who believe it gives copyright holders too much power. Changing it would require Congress to pass legislation revising it, which is never a quick or easy process.