Rojadirecta & Site Operator Hit With $33m Piracy Damages Judgment

Around 2016, sports streaming site Rojadirecta closed its doors to visitors from Spain after losing its legal battle with Mediapro. Despite the win, the broadcaster was disappointed that the court had found the company behind Rojadirecta liable, but not company owner Igor Seoane. After the Supreme Court held that Seoane could be held liable, last Friday a court confirmed total damages of $33 million, with Seoane and the company jointly liable for half of that amount.

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Two years after its debut in 2005, Rojadirecta faced legal action in Spain for providing links to unlicensed sports streams. Rojadirecta was adamant that under existing law the site operated legally and steadfastly refused to shut down.

In 2009, that position was endorsed by a district court and then upheld by a provincial court after rightsholders filed an appeal.

Despite the losing streak, rightsholders subsequently convinced the Department of Homeland Security to seize two of Rojadirecta’s domain names; under mounting legal pressure, DHS eventually gave them back. A shifting legal landscape and unwavering rightsholder pressure ensured that successive wins like these would soon become a thing of the past.

Mediapro Delivers a Significant Blow

In 2016, Puerto 80 Projects SL – the Spanish company behind Rojadirecta – was found liable for violating the intellectual property rights of broadcaster Mediapro. Rojadirecta’s subsequent appeal failed in 2018, effectively ending the site’s ability to service any further visitors from Spain.

Despite landing a significant win, Mediapro wasn’t entirely happy with the outcome. The Commercial Court of A Coruña ruled that liability for Rojadirecta’s infringement lay with Puerto 80 Projects SL, a company run by Igor Seoane, the man who had operated Rojadirecta from the very beginning. With piracy battles becoming ever more bitter, Mediapro wanted to see Seoane personally on the hook.

Supreme Court Confirms Joint Liability

In 2022, Mediapro’s persistence paid off. Spain’s Supreme Court ruled that Puerto 80 Projects SL, and company owner/Rojadirecta operator Igor Seoane, could be held jointly liable.

Commercial Court No. 2 of A Coruña has now determined the amount of compensation to be paid to Mediapro, for infringement carried out a decade ago during the 2014/2015 football season.

With the commercial entity and its owner confirmed liable, on Friday the Court ordered Puerto 80 and owner Seoane to pay Mediapro 31.6 million euros (US$33m), with Puerto 80 and Seoane jointly liable for 15.6 million euros (US$16.3m) of the total award.

Believed to be the most significant award ever handed down in a Spanish case of its kind, the figure is said to represent how much it would’ve cost to obtain a license to show the content legally.

Mediapro Welcomes Decision

Rojadirecta has been facilitating access to unlicensed content in Spain for almost 20 years, primarily through links that allow users to watch live sports content that’s ordinarily available on pay TV platforms in exchange for a fee.

On the consumer side, Rojadirecta has always been available for free, something that undoubtedly plays a significant part in its enduring popularity even today. It’s alleged that Puerto 80’s business model has generated millions of euros from both regular advertising and affiliate commissions earned by diverting visitors to sports betting websites.

Criminal Prosecution For Same Conduct

In parallel, Puerto 80 and Igor Seoane are also fighting a criminal prosecution pursued by Mediapro and LaLiga. The companies claim that Seoane continues to unlawfully benefit from ongoing infringement by providing access to illegal streams via Rojadirecta.

The matter is still in its early stages but with a demand for a four-year prison sentence, the prosecutor clearly means business. Mediapro and LaLiga are demanding a six-year prison sentence, alleging that Rojadirecta continues to operate illegally outside Spain.

Puerto 80 and its owner should have deposited a bond of 4.15 million euros to cover future liabilities, the prosecutor said, noting the ‘special economic significance’ of the profits and damages alleged in the case.

Citing expert reports from 2022, ElMundo reports that in 2022, just one of the company’s accounts reportedly showed income of more than 11 million euros.

Rojadirecta Was Created to Solve a Problem

According to an ABC report (paywall), a then 21-year-old Seoane was inspired to launch Rojadirecta one afternoon; he wanted to watch his team (Barca) play but didn’t really feel like going to the bar where pay-per-view events are often shown. “There has to be another way to do it,” he thought.

Two decades later, ABC notes that Seoane – who speaks English, Portuguese, and Galician fluently, and is able to “get by” in French and Italian – is rarely seen in public, except during various Rojadirecta-related trials he has to attend.

“In some of them he has appeared disguised, with a showy curly wig and glasses. Thus, he has been described as the ‘Galician without a face’, an anonymity that gave rise to various myths about his place of residence, among some Internet users who considered him a kind of ‘Robin Hood’, capable of bringing football back to its fans.”