Rojadirecta and Its Operator Ordered to Pay $33 Million in Piracy Damages

• The sports streaming website Rojadirecta operator and its parent company were found liable for breaching intellectual property rights.
• The ruling is part of a long legal battle with broadcaster Mediapro, which offered free streams of otherwise paid sports events.
• Due to piracy-related activities, a court in Spain ordered the individual to pay €31.6 million.

A Spanish court has ordered the operator of sports streaming website Rojadirecta and its parent company to pay €31.6 million (approximately $33 million) in damages for intellectual property violations. 

The ruling comes after years of legal battles brought by broadcaster Mediapro and marks one of the largest damages awards in Spain for piracy-related activities.

Launched in 2005 by Igor Seoane, Rojadirecta quickly gained popularity as a platform providing links to unlicensed sports streams, offering free access to live sports events that would typically require paid subscriptions. However, its operations came under legal scrutiny within just two years of its debut. 

Initially, Rojadirecta claimed to operate within the boundaries of Spanish law, a position supported by a district court decision in 2009 and later upheld by a provincial court. Despite these early victories, increasing pressure from rights holders and a shifting legal landscape led to setbacks for the site. 

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security even seized two of its domains under allegations of copyright infringement, though they were eventually returned.

By 2016, Mediapro secured a significant legal victory, with Puerto 80 Projects SL—the company behind Rojadirecta—found liable for breaching intellectual property rights. This led to the site closing access to Spanish users. However, Mediapro pushed for further accountability, seeking to hold Igor Seoane personally liable for the infringements.

In 2022, Spain’s Supreme Court sided with Mediapro, ruling that both Puerto 80 Projects SL and Seoane could be held jointly liable for Rojadirecta’s activities. Last week, the Commercial Court No. 2 of A Coruña confirmed a damages award totaling €31.6 million, with Seoane and Puerto 80 jointly responsible for €15.6 million ($16.3 million USD). 

This landmark sum is said to reflect the cost of obtaining legal licenses for broadcasting the content in question during the 2014/2015 football season. Meanwhile, judges recently ruled that accessing pirate IPTV services for personal use is not a criminal offense.