OTT piracy losses to reach US$12.5 billion

Losses due to piracy in OTT and IPTV are expected to reach US$12.5 billion in 2022, according to figures presented by Roxana Kahale, lawyer of Kahale Abogados, who covered the topic of new platforms and ways to protect intellectual property. Kahale reported that in 2019 losses rose to US$9.1 billion.

He mentioned some of the reasons that account for piracy: the culture of free content, budget restrictions and shared accounts. “In this last case, the practice accounts for 19% of total losses due to piracy,” he expressed.

He highlighted that to address the problem, a multidisciplinary, legal, commercial, and technological approach is necessary. “Legal combat is not impossible, but it is constantly in terms of time and money,” he said. He added that in many cases such as live events -especially sports events-, time and speed to eliminate pirate broadcasts is essential.

To end, Kahale emphasized that if all the participants in the process are educated, “a great part of the problem -but not all of it- will be resolved”.