Complaint Alleges Abilene Tavern Pirated UFC PPV Broadcast in July 2021

An Abilene, Texas, bar and its owner “willfully engaged” in wrongful acts when they intercepted the pay-per-view broadcast of the July 2021 Ultimate Fighting Championship bout between Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor for free, alleged Joe Hand Promotions’ Communications Act complaint Monday (docket 1:24-cv-00092) in U.S. District Court for Northern Texas in Abilene. Elvin Chew, owner of the Whiskey Girl, knew or should have known that the interception and exhibition of the broadcast weren't “properly authorized,” said the complaint. The broadcast wasn’t for private viewing, nor was it for residential, noncommercial purposes, it said. The bar sold food and drinks during the broadcast, and the public display of the program was to entice patrons to the establishment to spend money while viewing it, it said. Chew intentionally pirated the program for his own economic gain, while other establishments paid substantial sums for the proper commercial sublicense to show the broadcast legitimately to their customers, the complaint said. It seeks maximum damages of $100,000 for each willful violation of Section 605 of the Communications Act, or alternatively, the maximum of $50,000 for each willful violation of Section 553.