Tenn. Tavern Pirated May 2022 Boxing Broadcast, Alleges Complaint

Shaggy’s Tavern and Hookah Bar intentionally pirated the May 7, 2022, pay-per-view broadcast of the Canelo Alvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol boxing match, alleged program distributor Joe Hand Promotions in a Communications Act complaint Monday (docket 3:24-cv-00566) in U.S. District Court for Middle Tennessee in Nashville. Joe Hand entered into license agreements with various commercial establishments in Tennessee that, in exchange for a fee, allowed them to exhibit the program to their patrons, said the complaint. The program was legally available to Shaggy’s, a Lebanon, Tennessee, eatery, and its owner Ana Franco, for exhibition in the establishment only after paying a commercial sublicense fee, it said. But the defendants chose not to contract with Joe Hand, it said. They instead “took affirmative steps to circumvent the commercial sublicensing requirement” and unlawfully obtained the program via a satellite or cable signal, it said.