8 Puerto Rico venues sued for pirating Canelo-Berlanga fight
Joe Hand Promotions Inc. and PPV Entertainment LLC have filed eight lawsuits in U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico against businesses accused of pirating the closed-circuit broadcast of the Canelo vs. Berlanga boxing event held Sept. 14, 2024, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
According to the complaints, Joe Hand Promotions is the exclusive copyright owner of the event, while PPV Entertainment holds commercial distribution rights in Puerto Rico.
The lawsuits allege the establishments intercepted and transmitted the telecast without contracts or payment of licensing fees.
The establishments named in separate lawsuits are Angry Bull Garage Grill in Cabo Rojo, Bartopia in Mayagüez, Chango Bar in Ponce, Burgeritas in Caguas, Hacienda Real in Ponce, Vida Bbelata y Comedera in Naranjito, Sansebar Restaurant in San Juan and Tomate in Carolina.
The complaints state the broadcast was scrambled and electronically coded, with decoding equipment provided only to establishments that contracted with PPV Entertainment. Authorized venues paid fees to secure rights to show the fight. Plaintiffs allege the defendants bypassed the system to draw customers unlawfully.
“Defendants did in fact receive and transmit the event without contracting with PPVE or any of its agents, and without paying the fee to obtain the rights to exhibit said event,” the lawsuits state.
The filings claim the broadcasts were carried out “willfully and with the express purpose and intent to secure commercial advantage and private financial gain.”
The lawsuits bring three causes of action: violation of the Communications Act’s cable provisions (47 U.S.C. §553), violation of satellite and radio transmission provisions (47 U.S.C. §605) and copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. §101 et seq.
For each claim, the plaintiffs seek statutory damages. Under Section 553, they request up to $10,000 per violation, with enhanced damages of at least $50,000 for willful acts. Under Section 605, they seek up to $10,000 per violation, with possible increases of at least $100,000.
For copyright infringement, they seek no less than $150,000 per unauthorized broadcast, plus permanent injunctions to prevent future piracy.
The plaintiffs also seek litigation costs, attorney’s fees and an order requiring defendants to account for profits from the unauthorized exhibitions.
The cases were filed on Sept. 15 and assigned to several federal judges.
