Intangiblia™
#1 Podcast on Goodpods - Intellectual Property Indie Podcasts
#3 Podcast on Goodpods - Intellectual Property Podcast
Plain talk about Intellectual Property. Podcast of Intangible Law™
Intangiblia™
Dynamic Justice: AI on the Frontlines of Sports IP Protection
The race between pirates and rights holders has entered a new era where algorithms call the shots. Across six countries on three continents, courts are embracing AI as the referee of intellectual property rights in sports broadcasting, delivering a game-changing shift in enforcement speed and effectiveness.
From hockey arenas in Toronto to cricket grounds in Mumbai, sophisticated AI systems now fingerprint legitimate broadcasts, instantly detect unauthorized streams, and trigger court-ordered blocks in real-time. The result? Millions of viewers watching pirated streams suddenly find their screens going dark mid-match as algorithms blow the whistle on infringement.
This episode takes you inside landmark cases where technology and law converge. In Canada, broadcasters secured dynamic blocking orders that update during live games. Spain's La Liga won the right to target entire server infrastructures. French courts ordered VPN providers to block pirate access. Ireland extended Premier League protections through 2027. And India's cricket authorities gained "dynamic plus" injunctions to shut down rogue apps and mirror sites as they appear.
What makes these cases revolutionary is how they've normalized algorithm-driven enforcement. Courts now trust AI detection as reliable evidence and trigger for immediate action. Internet service providers publish their blocking obligations as routine notices. The technology that once seemed futuristic has become the everyday referee of digital rights.
For pirates who once stayed ahead of enforcement by constantly shifting domains and servers, the game has fundamentally changed. They now face an opponent that moves at machine speed, identifying and blocking new infrastructure faster than humans can respond. It's a buzzer-beater for intellectual property that's reshaping the global sports streaming landscape.
Ready to understand how AI is revolutionizing IP enforcement? Subscribe now and discover why the algorithm might be the most powerful player in today's sports broadcasting game.
Want to develop your own IP protection strategy? Check out "Protection for the Inventive Mind" – available now on Amazon in print and Kindle formats.
It's game night around the world. In Toronto, fans crowd the Stanley Cup playoffs. In Mumbai, the IPL is in full swing. In Paris, cafes pulse with Champions League football. And in Boston, the Celtics chase another NBA title. At the same time, pirates are hard at work, hidden servers, shady apps, sketchy sites, all streaming these matches to millions for free, convinced they can't be stopped. But the rules of the game have changed. Algorithms now act as referees. AI tools fingerprint broadcasts, trace pirate feeds and faster than a three-polomer at the buzzer. Courts issue live blocking orders, screens go dark, mid-match, piracy benched, game over. It's the reality of today's IP enforcement unfolding across Canada, Spain, France, India, Ireland, and beyond.
SPEAKER_00:You are listening to Intangibilia, the podcast of Intangible Law. Plain talk about intellectual property. Please welcome your host, Leticia Caminero.
SPEAKER_01:Welcome to Intangibilia, the podcast where intellectual property meets the real world systems that protect it. I'm your host, Leticia Caminero.
SPEAKER_02:I'm Artemisa, your beloved AI co-host.
SPEAKER_01:Today we're exploring how artificial intelligence has become the new referee of global sports. From hockey and basketball in North America to football in Europe to cricket in India, courts are increasingly relying on AI detection tools to enforce IP rights. These aren't traditional takedowns or after-the-fact lawsuits. We're talking dynamic, real-time injunctions where an algorithm can flag a pirate server, and within minutes, an internet provider is ordered to shut it down.
SPEAKER_02:It's like having VAR, Hawkeye, and the Third Umpire rolled into one, but instead of calling goals, line calls, or LBWs, the machine is calling out piracy.
SPEAKER_01:And in today's episode, we'll take you through 12 cases from the last four years where algorithms have stepped out of the lap and onto the legal pitch.
SPEAKER_02:So grab your jerseys, cricket bats, or hockey sticks, because this one's going into overtime.
SPEAKER_01:Before we kick things off, a quick timeout. What you hear on Intangibilia is for information and commentary only. Translation, we're calling plays, not giving you a playbook for court. Exactly. If you need legal advice, consult a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction.
SPEAKER_02:Preferably one who won't try to explain copyright law with cricket metaphors. Or football offsite rules. Only get me started. Point is this is not legal advice, it's a highlight reel.
SPEAKER_01:And now let's get back on the field. You know, I almost feel bad for the pirates. They line up their streams like a team ready to play, thinking they've got the perfect strategy.
SPEAKER_02:And then the algorithm blows the whistle offside foul game over.
SPEAKER_01:In cricket terms, they barely make it to the crease before getting bowled out.
SPEAKER_02:Or in hockey, they don't even clear the blue line before the ref sends them to the penalty box.
SPEAKER_01:The truth is, courts are treating these AI tools like referees, keeping the game fair, protecting the rights holders, and shutting down foul play in real time.
SPEAKER_02:And honestly, every time a pirate stream goes dark mid-match, it feels like a buzzer beater for the rule of law.
SPEAKER_01:On that note, let's lace up and head into our first case. Straight to Canada, where hockey, basketball, and football collided in one of the boldest site blocking rulings yet. Let's start in Canada. July 2024, the federal court hands down a landmark ruling in Rogers Media in video John Doe 1. At the heart of it, live sports piracy, hockey, basketball, Premier League football, streams being safe and off and delivered illegally.
SPEAKER_02:And not just after the fact. We're talking live in the moment. Imagine paying for cable, but your neighbor just grabs the signal online for free with thousands of his closest friends.
SPEAKER_01:To fight that, broadcasters like Rogers, Bell, and FUBO TV came armed with an unusual weapon. They partner with Friend MTS, a company that uses fingerprinting and AI-driven monitoring to spot pirate streams the moment they go live.
SPEAKER_02:A dynamic site blocking order. ISPs were told to block servers in real time with updates rolling in during games. Translation, if you were hoping to watch the Stanley Cup for free on some shady site, better start budgeting for cable.
SPEAKER_01:And this case also shows how courts are moving beyond traditional tech towns. They're experimenting with dynamic rolling enforcement that matches the speed of infringement. The company provided affidavits showing how its AI-assisted fingerprinting system scans live broadcasts, identifies pirate streams, and maps them back to delivery infrastructure. The applicants told the court that without this automated approach, piracy was simply too fast and too adaptive for traditional enforcement. But again, safeguards mattered. Any mistaken flagging had to be addressed, and there were strict reporting duties back to the court.
SPEAKER_02:So we've got AI sniffing out the pirates, ISBs flipping the off snub, and the court keeping score, almost like a hockey game. Attackers, defenders, referees.
SPEAKER_01:And the result? Broadcasters In Canada gained one of the most powerful tools yet against live streaming piracy backed by AI detection. It shifted the fight from chasing down websites after the fact to cutting off the pipeline at the source. Scoreboard check pirates zero. Algorithms two. And that brings us to Europe, where things get even more heated with La Liga in Spain.
SPEAKER_02:Ah, see Bubul. When Spain's top league gets involved, you know it's about to get spicy. And not with lawyers in suits alone. Picture this. Automated detection systems running 24 slash 7, scanning the web for illegal La Liga streams, tracing them back to IP addresses. It's like a squad of digital referees blowing the whistle before kickoff.
SPEAKER_01:In December 2024, Barcelona's commercial court, no six, upheld La Liga's right to use those systems. They targeted IP addresses, not just the mains, linked to pirate streaming infrastructure.
SPEAKER_02:You're not just blocking one shady website, you're cutting off the server that's feeding dozens of them.
SPEAKER_01:CloudFlad, the Internet Services Company, tried to challenge the ruling. They argued that these orders were overbroad and potentially unfair to legitimate services that might share the same IP.
SPEAKER_02:Classic defense move, what if you block something innocent? But La Liga came prepared. In other words, better to risk blocking one dodgy server too many than let millions watch El Classico for free.
SPEAKER_01:Spain became one of the first jurisdictions in Europe to normalize IP level blocking based on AI assisted detection pipeline.
SPEAKER_02:And let's not forget the symbolism.
SPEAKER_01:It shows how rights holders are pushing the boundaries of what courts will accept as reliable tech-driven evidence.
SPEAKER_02:And honestly, watching pirates scramble when their streams suddenly go dark mid-match, that's almost as entertaining as the goals themselves.
SPEAKER_01:From Spain, let's head to France. In May 2025, the Paris Judicial Court handed down a decision that shook the anti-piracy playbook, ordering VPN providers to block access to piracy sites.
SPEAKER_02:That's right. The pirate's invisibility cloak. For years, infringers said, block my site, no problem. I'll just hide behind a VPN. While Canal Plus and the French Football League, the LFP, said, not so fast.
SPEAKER_01:The plaintiffs relied on automated monitoring systems that generated live lists of privacy domains. Their evidence showed that many users were bypassing existing ISP blocks by connecting through VPNs to reach those same illegal sites. The order also had a dynamic element. New domains detected by the automated systems could be added to the block list with VPNs required to comply quickly.
SPEAKER_02:VPN sell privacy and freedom, and suddenly they're forced to play bouncer at the door of pirate sites.
SPEAKER_01:The defense argued this was overreach and maybe even a question for EU law, but in July 2025, the Paris Court rejected that and kept the blocks in place.
SPEAKER_02:So in France, the message was clear. If you're a BPN and you knowingly provide the tunnel for pirates, you might be legally on the hook.
SPEAKER_01:And the reliance on automated detection to build these domain lists shows how central AI-driven monitoring has become in enforcement. It's no longer just catching pirates, it's reshaping obligations for intermediaries.
SPEAKER_02:Honestly, it's like asking the locksmith to rat out anyone who uses their key for a break-in. Poetic if slightly awkward.
SPEAKER_01:Now we move to Ireland, where the Premier League has been running one of the most ambitious anti-piracy programs in Europe. In 2025, they went back to the High Court to renew their live blocking order.
SPEAKER_02:And live is the key word here. The Premier League doesn't just rely on takedowns after the match. Their tech team uses automated fingerprinting to detect illegal streams as they happen. Imagine thousands of streams being checked simultaneously and the system instantly saying that one's legit, that one's piracy. Once confirmed, the server gets added to a block list.
SPEAKER_01:And thanks to a standing court order, ISPs in Ireland are legally obliged to block those servers almost immediately.
SPEAKER_02:Which means that if you're watching a free bootleg feed of Manchester United versus Liverpool, there's a good chance your stream will suddenly go black right after kickoff.
SPEAKER_01:In 2025, the Premier League asked for and obtained an extension of this system for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons. The High Court accepted the technical affidavits, showing the system's effectiveness and safeguards.
SPEAKER_02:So pirates might call it censorship, but courts called it necessary protection, and the Premier League scored not just on the field, but in the courtroom. Every unauthorized feed got flagged, logged, and sent straight to the ISP's block lists.
SPEAKER_01:The court had already granted UEFA a live blocking order before, but in 2025, they asked for a two-year extension to cover the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons.
SPEAKER_02:And they got it. Or to put it in sports terms, the pirates barely made it out of the locker room before the algorithm sent them off the field.
SPEAKER_01:Earlier we looked at Canada's Rogers B. John Doe case, but that was just the beginning. In 2024, Canadian video service providers went bigger, way bigger. They asked the court for power to shut down pirate delivery servers across the entire country. And just like in the Rogers case, safeguards mattered.
SPEAKER_02:So the outcome?
SPEAKER_01:It's a clear example of courts trusting automated detection, not just as evidence, but as the trigger for real-time enforcement at scale.
SPEAKER_02:Or to put it bluntly, Canada told pirates no hockey for you.
SPEAKER_01:Now let's fly to India, home of cricket, and a brand new twist on dynamic blocking. In March 2024, the Delhi High Court granted Viacom 18 a dynamic plus injunction to protect its rights over the Indian Premier League broadcasts.
SPEAKER_02:The IPO draws hundreds of millions of viewers and plenty of pirates eager to cash in with unauthorized streams.
SPEAKER_01:Viacometis legal team presented evidence from automated crawlers and AI-powered monitoring systems. These tools scoured the internet during matches, identifying rock domains, mirror sites, and even apps distributing live feats.
SPEAKER_02:Every time a new pirate popped up, the bots tagged it, added it to the list, and handed it over to the court.
SPEAKER_01:Safeguards were built in, each update had to be verified, sworn affidavits had to support the detection, and AISPs had clear instructions for compliance.
SPEAKER_02:Which means, in plain terms, that if you tried to stream an IPL match illegally in 2024, chances are your feed got zapped mid-game.
SPEAKER_01:Just like Viacom 18 the year before, Geostar asked for a dynamic plus injunction. They file affidavits from monitoring teams that use AI uppermoured crawlers to detect new road domains, streaming apps, and even mirror links as soon as they went live. Pirates were shifting faster than human teams could respond. Automated detection, updated in real time, was the only way to keep pace.
SPEAKER_02:One moment you're streaming a La Liga match, the next, poof, the algorithm turned off the lights. Sounds boring, right? A webpage with legal disclaimers, but wait, those pages reveal just how normal AI-driven blocking orders have become.
SPEAKER_01:Providers like EE and Plusnet publish court orders they are bound to follow. And if you check in 2025, you'll see something striking. Live blocking obligations for Premier League and UEFA matches running straight through to the 2026-27 season.
SPEAKER_02:Which means every weekend while fans watch football, algorithms are working in the background, fingerprinting feeds, identifying pirate servers, and sending updates to ISPs in real time. Honestly, it's like checking the weather report. Today's forecast scattered showers, Premier League blocking orders in effect.
SPEAKER_01:Bigger point this isn't just about one flashing junction in Canada, Spain, across jurisdiction, AI detection is now baked into the daily mechanics of IP enforcement. And that's why we call this episode dynamic justice. Codes are learning to move at algorithm speed, and ISPs are publishing the proof for everyone to see.
SPEAKER_02:Pirates beware, the algorithm never sleeps, and apparently neither do lawyers.
SPEAKER_01:So we've traveled from Toronto to Delhi, Madrid to Dublin, and Paris to London, and what we've seen is clear. Sports piracy isn't just a nuisance anymore, it's a full-scale legal battleground.
SPEAKER_02:And the MVP, algorithms. AI drain, fingerprinting, stream monitoring, and automated crawlers have become the star players in these court victories.
SPEAKER_01:Courts are adapting too. Instead of waiting months for traditional lawsuits, they're granting dynamic, real-time orders. Piracy happens in minutes. And now so does enforcement. True. And while these cases show powerful wins for rights holders, they also raise deeper questions about proportionality, due process, and whether automation should really be the front line of justice.
SPEAKER_02:But one thing's for sure, if you're streaming illegally, you might want to keep a backup snack because your screen could go dark before halftime.
SPEAKER_01:That's the game today. Algorithms are protecting hockey rings, basketball courts, football pitches, and cricket fields, and courts are backing them up. Takeaways. But cricket, hockey, and basketball are also central, making sports a global testing ground for AI-driven IP protection.
SPEAKER_02:Or intermediaries in the spotlight, ISPs, and now even VPNs are being pulled into enforcement with court orders requiring them to block sites dynamically based on AI detection.
SPEAKER_01:That's all for today's match on Intangibilia.
SPEAKER_02:We've seen AI step onto the field, the court, the pitch, and even the cricket ground, not as a player, but as the referee calling piracy out of bounds. So whether you're a fan cheering in the stands or a lawyer drafting in the office, remember the algorithm might already be ahead of you. Thank you for joining us. Until next time, play fair and stay protected.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for listening to Intangibilia, the podcast of Intangible Law. Plain talk about intellectual property. Did you like what we talked today? Please share with your network. Do you want to learn more about intellectual property? Subscribe now on your favorite podcast player. Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Visit our website www.intangibia.com. Copyright Leticia Caminero 2020. All rights reserved. This podcast is provided for information purposes only.
