“LaLiga has hacked the law” with IPS blocks

The Rootedcon event is one of the referents of the cybersecurity segment in Spain and worldwide, but this afternoon it has been something else. There those responsible have organized a round table entitled “Thebes to run out of football.” The word game was just detail, because those who participated there are clear that you have to stop LaLiga.

Background. In early February they began to occur indiscriminate blockages of IPS that left Spanish Internet users out of play. It was soon discovered that the blockades had been ordered by LaLiga, which tried to avoid illegal soccer broadcasts in IPTV services. These actions were based on Disposable legal argumentsand all this ended up detonating The war between LaLiga and Cloudflare Due to her they began to pay just for sinnerswith many users and companies affected by blockages and losing business during those cuts.

Rootedcon is activated. The situation ended up causing Rooted with began to take action on the matter. Your responsible Victims data began to collect of these blockages to initiate potential legal actions. While, Cloudflare began its own legal actions Against LaLiga, accusing the blockages of “clumsy and ineffective.” LaLiga He replied To this demand, and a few days later we learned that Rootedcon had submitted a Nullity incident to try to make the sentence used by LaLiga – a manager with “legal tricks” according to RootedCon experts – could not be applied.

Disproportionate actions. On the round table, moderate by Omar Benbouzza (@omarbv), participated among other Tomás Ledo (@Toplus), co -founder and CEO of the technocratic company. According to him what LaLiga was doing was “how to close a whole shopping center because a bar inside is putting the game for IPTV”. The analogy is clear: the IPS blockades, as we say, cause potentially tens of thousands of fully legitimate web sites and services, with the damage that that can cause to those responsible.

Soccer has no intellectual property. Javier A. Master (@Javieramastre), by Master Abogados, was another of the table participants. Maestre is RootedCon’s lawyer, and a few days ago he published ‘The Affaire Cloudflare‘Explaining the legal situation in this area. Both there and in the talk he remembered that Soccer has no intellectual propertyand also used an analogy to explain it. “When you take a picture of a landscape, the landscape has no intellectual property, but the photo does.” The same with football: the recording (the signal) does have intellectual property, but football is not. According to Maestre, LaLiga went several times to judicial bodies to get what he pursued.

A first attempt from LaLiga. A car of the Provincial Court of Pontevedra of June 2019 is the first to It appears in Cendoj with reference to attributing production and realization functions. LaLiga then tried to attribute these functions, but the car made it clear that:

“These statements are not correct in their entirety (…) Therefore, in no way can it be considered that LaLiga has attributed the functions of production and realization of the audiovisual recording but only of marketing of audiovisual rights and of control of production and realization to establish the same pattern that guarantees a common style. Nothing more.”

That attempt failed for LaLiga, and it was indicated that “an intellectual property right would not have been accredited.” The thing did not end there.

Capucera Judgment. Maestre indicated that LaLiga continued to insist until she achieved her purpose. In a judgment of the Valencia Court of March 1, 2021, It was indicated that:

“In the first place, it must be left, as a proven fact, that the National Professional Soccer League, which acts as a complainant and particular accusation in this cause, It is, by the Ministry of Law, the only assignee of the marketing powers Joint of the audiovisual rights of the National and Second Division League Championship and of the His Majesty Cup the King, with the exception of the final of said competition, having legally attributed, the functions of production and realization of your audiovisual recording, as well as the authorization rights of your public communication, reproduction and distribution “.

That “Capucera Judgment”, as Master explained, made these functions attribute to him, but according to this expert that does not make the celebrities apply Articles 138 and 139 of the Intellectual Property Law because said law was not modified. For him “LaLiga has hacked the law.”

The hackers are we, the cybercriminals them. OFELIA TEJERINA (@Fetg), lawyer and president of the Association of Internet users, also participated in that round table. Remembered how this was like a déjà vu After everything that happened With the Sinde lawand that LaLiga has already proven not to do things well. He was recently seen with the fine imposed by the Spanish Agency for Data Protection (AEPD) by biometric recognition systems. For this expert those who were violating the law and various fundamental rights (Ideological, religious and worship freedom – artico 16—, Freedom of expression and information – article 20—, or the right to effective judicial protection – articles 24—) were responsible for LaLiga. The word hacker has often had negative connotations, but he wanted to make them take them to make it clear that in this case “the hackers are us, the cybercriminals are them (LaLiga).”

This may be the beginning of something really bad. For Román Ramírez (@patowc), confunder and CEO of Rootedcon, which is happening with these attacks on Cloudflare It is just the beginning of something more dangerous. “This goes against all CDNs,” he explained, and pointed out with Master how there have always been excuses to try to “cut off internet freedom.” They put examples such as those of the money laundering, terrorism or, now, the violation of intellectual property rights. “If this works (A LaLiga) with the base of intellectual property, then they will apply it with the excuse of fake news, for example,” and that could give rise to a much more strong control of discourse on the Internet. If an organism (and not a judge, important) has that power, the power to censor is enormous and the neutrality in the network, “which is already injured in death”, could disappear.

To the constitutional (and beyond) if necessary. But as Tejerina pointed out, “intellectual property is not a fundamental right of the Spanish Constitution, although it is a right recognized in the Constitution. Even so, this lawyer stood out, it is not at the level of fundamental rights, and it cannot be above them. Ramírez had it absolutely clear: this had to stop this before it is too late and go further.” We will take it to the constitutional (court) if necessary. “

In Xataka | IPS blocks that affect Cloudflare are the new Internet condemnation. Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom already suffers them