G&G Seeks $160,000 in Damages for Bar's Alleged Piracy of 2022 Fight

Who Daq Daiquiris and More in Midlothian, Texas, and its owner, Robin Roberts, showed the Keith Thurman vs. Mario Barrios fight in February 2022 without a license from rights owner G&G Closed Circuit Events, alleged G&G's complaint Tuesday (docket 4:23-cv-00877) in U.S. District Court for Northern Texas in Fort Worth. The closed-circuit event wasn't intended for the use of the public, the complaint said. The transmission of the fight originated via satellite and was scrambled. Establishments that contracted with G&G to broadcast the fight were given decoding capability or satellite coordinates necessary to receive the event's signal, it said. Who Daq willfully intercepted the fight or assisted in its receipt to show patrons in the bar, it said. G&G claims violation of the Communications Act and seeks statutory damages up to $10,000 for piracy, up to $50,000 for willfulness, and up to $100,000 for “unauthorized publication” of communications.