TotalSportek Added to Germany’s Pirate Website Blocklist Under the Guidance of CUII

• Germany added TotalSportek to its growing list of pirate websites blocklist in an ongoing effort to protect copyrighted content.
• Local internet service providers and copyright holders work together under a mutually beneficial agreement.
• Europe’s crackdown on piracy has intensified in recent years, tackling sports, manga, and ebooks, among others.

Germany has expanded its pirate site blocklist by adding the sports streaming site TotalSportek. This action is part of a voluntary agreement between German internet service providers (ISPs) and copyright holders, operating under the guidance of the "Clearing Body for Copyright on the Internet" (CUII). 

The decision marks a significant step in Germany's ongoing efforts to protect intellectual property rights and deter unauthorized content distribution. Germany's site blocking initiative, formalized in 2021, reflects a growing international trend towards stricter enforcement against online copyright infringement. 

The CUII, responsible for evaluating and recommending sites for blocking, does not rely on court orders. Instead, it follows a structured review process to ensure that only sites predominantly hosting pirated content are targeted.

The approach is straightforward yet rigorous. When a copyright holder identifies a site for consideration, a review committee assesses whether the domain systematically violates copyright laws. If confirmed, and if alternative measures to shut down the site or identify its operators prove ineffective, blocking is deemed a proportionate response.

TotalSportek, recognized for providing streams to a wide array of sports events, has been a recurrent target of legal actions globally. It has faced similar blocks in France and Kenya and has been flagged to the U.S. Trade Representative as a notorious piracy portal. 

The CUII's recent decision to block TotalSportek was driven by its classification as a "structurally infringing" website. The undisclosed sports rights holder who requested the block claimed a clear breach of copyright, which the CUII confirmed.

While Germany does not publish the specific domain names subjected to further blocks, transparency is maintained through public notifications of the decisions, albeit with redacted details. 

Recently, U.K. broadcaster Sky underlined the involvement of intermediaries like Cloudflare, Google, and Facebook in facilitating IPTV piracy in a report submission to the European Commission (EC) as the company prepares to update its 'Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List.' 

Meanwhile, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), representing major Hollywood studios and Netflix, highlighted the persisting issue of online piracy in its latest submission to the E.C., which mentions the usual torrent sites, streaming portals, and piracy apps but emphasizes the role of third-party intermediaries.