Streamiz: Most Popular Illegal Streaming Site

Streamiz was one of the most well known illegal streaming sites in France. His fleeing administrator was sentenced heavily by the Nanterre court. The administrator of StreamiZ, a streaming site offering films protected by copyright, has been placed in police custody. The investigators found 130,000 euros on an account-based in Luxembourg and 30,000 euros

A 41-year-elderly person was sentenced on Monday in his absence, in Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine), to two years in prison and more than 80 million euros in damages for having administered a streaming site illegal, we learned Tuesday from concordant sources.

The blamed, on the run, was found guilty of “forgery” and “concealed work”. He should pay to pay 83.6 million euros in damages to the civil parties, two professional unions, Disney, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros and the Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers (Sacem) in specifically.

The offender managed a film distribution platform called “Streamiz“, the second most popular streaming site in France in 2011 with an average of 250,000 unique visitors per day, said the lawyer for Sacem. The site, which has since been closed, offered around 40,000 films, some of which had not yet been released on DVD and which totalled 500 million views, according to the same source.

After a complaint from the National Federation of Film Distributors (FNDF) in December 2009, investigators had found the accused in 2011 in Hauts-de-Seine, according to a source familiar with the matter.

A Fugitive Defendant: 2 Years In Prison & 83.6 Million Euros Fine

The suspect was arrested in October 2011 when he left his home in Montrouge with nearly 30,000 euros in cash hidden in socks in his backpack.

Summoned by the investigating judge, the accused had not appeared. He was still at large on Monday when he was sentenced. The court upheld the effects of the arrest warrant issued against him.

The investigation revealed that the defendant had earned around 150,000 euros in advertising revenue in just under two years, and documents showing the existence of accounts abroad were found, the source said.

“Pirates” sentenced for example

His conviction makes it possible to “mark the spirits and show the concrete importance of the damage caused by these sites”, explained Me Christian Soulie, a lawyer for the civil parties. His conviction could be “only the first step” since the accused was neither present nor represented by a lawyer, he added.

“This is a clear case of commercial counterfeiting” based on a “very structured” system, said David El Sayegh, secretary-general of Sacem. His conviction “sends a very clear message: there will be no impunity for the pirates,” he added.

A point which is specified in its legal notices. “StreamiZ does not host and will not host any video on its servers, it only consists of referencing video links hosted by public and legally recognized sites […] StreamiZ does not upload any video to the platforms accommodation “. StreamiZ even provides the address of each site allowing “to  report content protected by intellectual property rights “

10,500 Million Visits To Illegal Streaming Sites In France

As a reminder, the broadcast, which allows you to listen and watch programs online without having to download them, is not illegal in itself. The main web platforms, such as YouTube, Deezer, Netflix, etc., use it. However, a large number of other platforms are providing the public with programs, movies and television series without permission.

According to the MUSO report published in March 2018, in 2017, France registered no less than 10,500 million visits to piracy websites and illegal transmission platforms. Continental France is, therefore, the European champion of this fraudulent practice ahead of Germany and the United Kingdom.