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A man has been fined £45,000 after he was found guilty of infringing Sky’s copyright by streaming content from Sky Sports online Waqas Rasheed shared content from the then-Sky Sports 1 and
Sky Sports 2 on a shady livestream website. In his defence, Mr Rasheed said he had "inadvertently" set-up the streams while trying to access Sky content online for free. However
the defence was shot down by the judge, who ruled that a lack of intention is not a defence against copyright infringement. He added that the defence has no legal merit in the eyes of the
law. Mr Rasheed exacerbated the situation by skipped his hearing in March. He did not provide a explanation for his absence. During the hearing, it was concluded Mr Rasheed had no defence
and he was found guilty for infringing copyrighted content from Sky. Mr Rasheed is now liable to pay over £45,000 in legal fees to Sky. Kieron Sharp, CEO of intellectual property protection
organisation FACT, said: “This result is an excellent example of just how serious an issue illegal streaming is. “This case in particular highlights that ignorance is not a defence and
digital piracy is not a grey area. “If you are accessing content for free that you’d usually pay for, or you’re creating the streams online to allow others to do so, you are breaking the
law. “In light of World Intellectual Property Day this is another positive step forward in tackling digital piracy and this sentencing should send out a very clear and strong message to
anyone involved that it is very much illegal and you run the real risk of paying hefty fines or even facing time in prison.” With the recent spike in fines, tougher sentences for pirates and
all-new blocking orders, the last year has seen the crackdown on online piracy step-up a notch. Mr Rasheed is just the latest case in a string of rulings. In a similar case last October,
Yusuf Mohammed, of Bristol, was ordered to pay £16,000 in legal costs for streaming Sky Sports on his blog. World Intellectual Property Day is held on April 26th. The news comes as exclusive
research conducted by Express.co.uk revealed that 74 per cent of people who watch content illegally online would return to legal providers if broadcasters including Virgin Media and Sky
dropped their subscription prices. According to the research, those who use nefarious methods to tune-in to premium content, including popular television dramas and live sport coverage,
would return to subscriptions with the likes of Sky, Virgin Media and BT if they cost less money. Meanwhile, over 25 per cent would not turn their back on illicit streaming devices,
regardless of the price of legal equivalents.