Taqueria Owner Pirated UFC Broadcast for ‘His Own Economic Gain,’ Says Complaint

A McAllen, Texas, restaurant owner willfully engaged in wrongful acts when he intercepted the July 2021 pay-per-view broadcast of the Ultimate Fighting Championship bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor for free while legitimate establishments paid substantially more for the proper commercial sublicense to show the broadcast to their patrons, alleged Joe Hand Promotions’ Communications Act complaint Monday (docket 7:24-cv-00232) in U.S. District Court for Southern Texas in McAllen. Owner Reynaldo Ramos knew or should have known that the interception and exhibition of the broadcast at his Taqueria El Paisano restaurant wasn’t “properly authorized,” said the complaint. The broadcast wasn’t for private viewing, nor was it for residential, noncommercial purposes, it said. Ramos’ establishment sold food and drinks during the broadcast, and the program's public display was to entice patrons to the establishment to spend money while viewing it, it said. Ramos intentionally pirated the program “for the purpose of his own economic gain,” it said. The complaint seeks maximum damages of $100,000 for the willful violation of Section 605 of the Communications Act, or alternatively, the maximum of $50,000 for the willful violation of Section 553.