N.J. Tavern Is Alleged to Have Pirated 2 UFC PPV Broadcasts in 2021

Joe Hand Promotions held the exclusive commercial licensing rights to the pay-per-view broadcasts of two Ultimate Fighting Championship matches in January and February 2021. Its complaint Thursday (docket 1:24-cv-00308) in U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Camden alleges that Tavern & Table in Hainesport, New Jersey, and its owner, Giuseppe Cammarata, “willfully intercepted” those broadcasts through an unauthorized satellite transmission or unauthorized receipt over a cable system. They then “unlawfully transmitted, divulged and published” those broadcasts to patrons in the establishment, it said. The defendants pirated the licensed exhibitions of the programs and infringed on Joe Hand’s exclusive rights “while avoiding proper authorization and payment” to Joe Hand, alleged the complaint. Their actions “were committed willfully and with the purpose and intent to secure a commercial advantage and private financial gain,” it said. Joe Hand is entitled to judgment in its favor and statutory damages of up to $110,000 for each willful infraction, plus court costs and attorneys’ fees, said the complaint.