Texas Tavern Sued for Pirating July 2020 UFC Match Without License

Plano, Texas-based Moxie’s Grill and Bar showed an Ultimate Fighting Championship match without authorization and for commercial use, alleges a Communications Act complaint (docket 4:23-cv-00610) by distribution rights owner Joe Hand Promotions Wednesday in U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas in Sherman. The bar pirated the pay-per-view broadcast of Ultimate Fighting Championship 251: Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal, a mixed martial arts match, in July 2020, without consent, the plaintiff said. The match was electronically coded or scrambled and “not available to or intended for the free use of the general public on the scheduled date and at the time” of the program, it said. Plaintiff seeks statutory damages of up to $10,000 for violation of Section 605 of 47 U.S.C., and up to $100,000 for willful violation, or up to $50,000 for willful violation of Section 553; it also seeks attorney’s fees, interest and legal costs.