Showtime is hoping to land the first punch against those who might seek to pirate the upcoming fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr..
Showtime Networks has filed copyright infringement lawsuit on Tuesday in hopes of preventing the fight from making its way online via unauthorized streaming.
“The Fight has garnered widespread media coverage and public interest, pitting a traditional boxing legend against a verifiable mixed martial arts superstar. Mayweather is undefeated with a perfect 49-0 record, having earned nine major world titles and headlined five of the six highest-grossing fights in history, and coming out of retirement specifically for this Fight. McGregor is the only fighter in UFC history to hold championship titles in two different divisions simultaneously, and is currently the reigning UFC Lightweight division Champion,” the suit reads. ” Consumers in the United States will be able to purchase pay-per-view access to the Coverage from Showtime and its licensed distributors (the “Licensed Distributor(s)”), which Coverage will commence at approximately 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time on August 26, 2017, with three undercard bouts and then the Fight itself, continuing until the Fight’s conclusion. Consumers in the United States can purchase such access to the Coverage from a Licensed Distributor for a retail price in the range of $89.95-$99.99.”
However, the suit alleges, LiveStreamHDQ and numerous other defendants are hoping to stream the fight online, which the suit contends would cause Lifetime “severe and irreparable harm.”
The suit says that Showtime has sent notices to the defendants warning them not to stream the fight, and has received only one reply, from a person “claiming that he is merely a sports blogger and that his websites do not offer live streaming services.”
“His email does not, however, disclaim his connection to the LiveStreamHDQ Websites nor the .US Affiliate Websites which offer to provide live streams of the Coverage,” the suit continues.
In addition to an order preventing the defendants from streaming the fight, Showtime is asking for unspecified damages.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.