Early 2023, Brazil’s National Film Agency (Ancine) and local telecoms regulator Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency) announced a new anti-piracy partnership.

In isolation that was nothing out of the ordinary but just a couple of months earlier, ANCINE had announced a “reformulation” of its anti-piracy work. Specifically, it would “move away” from combating the distribution of pirate set-top boxes and similar work aimed at protecting the movie and TV sector.

“The understanding is that there would be an overlap in responsibilities with the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL),” ANCINE explained, adding that it would be combating copyright violations of Brazilian works on digital platforms instead.

Despite overlapping responsibilities, ANCINE still took part in the March 2023 wave of Operation 404 . The agency’s logo did not appear alongside those of the MPA and ACE on the banners celebrating the next wave a few months later , however.

Concerns Over Comments in Brazil

In its submission to the USTR’s 2024 Special 301 Review, the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), which counts the MPA among its members, raised concerns over the situation in Brazil. Following the public hearing last month, the USTR asked IIPA to provide additional detail on why “recent positions vocalized by the Ministry of Culture and ANCINE officials concerning the protection of copyright” were seen as an issue.

ANCINE’s focus on the protection of domestic content is a problem, IIPA informed the USTR.

“This statement is troubling because it implies that ANCINE prioritizes the protection of domestic works and will not take actions to ensure the adequate and effective protection of works owned by U.S. rights holders, raising questions regarding Brazil’s international obligations,” the response notes, briefly, with almost no context.

To summarize IIPA’s submission, Brazil received praise for taking down 868 websites and applications, for taking action in eight states against live sports piracy, for deploying site-blocking injunctions, and for carrying out search and seizure raids and arresting pirates.

Ultimately, however, “several long-standing normative and legislative concerns warrant keeping Brazil on the Watch List,” the IIPA wrote.

So did Brazil suddenly become uncooperative overnight for no reason? Not exactly; in fact, deeper cooperation with the MPA played a significant role in the decision to prioritize local content protection.

ANCINE’s Special Agreement With the MPA

In April 2021, ANCINE announced it had signed “technical cooperation agreements to intensify the fight against piracy of audiovisual content.” This involved gaining access to automated systems to help it fight piracy more effectively.

One of those agreements ( pdf ) would apparently cement a partnership between ANCINE and the Motion Picture Association Latin America (MPA-AL), which represents Disney, Netflix, Paramount, Sony, Universal, and Warner Bros. in the region.

At the time, ANCINE was clear that the deal meant it would gain access to automated systems that would allow it to “monitor irregularities” related to online advertising in connection with piracy-related products. There was never any real mystery about what it hoped to achieve.

Civil Servants Demand Access to Agreement

When reading a grand press release, people may reasonably conclude that grand moves are underway. They may even start to suspect that even bigger things are going on.

Beginning around September 2022, more than a year after the ANCINE announcement, ASPAC (Associação dos Servidores Públicos da ANCINE) an association of civil servants connected to ANCINE, sent questions to the cinema regulator seeking information concerning its agreement with the MPA. ASPAC also filed an access to information request through which it hoped to obtain “copies of all documents involving the MPA and the use of the Ether platform.”

Among other details, ASPAC expressed deep concern that the deal with the MPA prioritized the protection of foreign movies over those created in Brazil.

EtherCity Anti-Piracy Services

EtherCity is an entity that “provides services, advanced automation solutions, and business intelligence for brand protection and anti-piracy operations.” Founded in 2018, EtherCity claims to be based in São Paulo, Brazil, and currently lists the MPA, ACE (Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment) and ANCINE as clients. Ether appears to be one of its anti-piracy platforms.

EtherCity’s website reveals a client list that goes way beyond the world’s most powerful movie studio association and the world’s most powerful anti-piracy coalition. Both ANCINE and Brazil telecoms regulator ANATEL are listed as clients alongside the likes of Prime Video, Discovery Plus, Netflix, Sky, Paramount Plus, HBO Max, Hulu, Roku, Warner, ESPN, Fox, and the list goes on.

EtherCity data has been cited in ACE reports ( pdf ) and EtherCity reports on ACE anti-piracy action have concluded how effective that’s been against LATAM-focused pirate sites.

The São Paulo operation is also mentioned in annual reports published by the local CNPC anti-piracy program in Brazil. EtherCity has been involved in efforts ( pdf ) to delist pirate TV box ads from Google and Meta platforms, and mentioned in respect of proposed subsidies for reverse engineering pirate set-top boxes in 2021.

ASPAC Opposes ANCINE/MPA Deal

ASPAC made several allegations concerning the ANCINE/MPA deal, including that the software in use at EtherCity was developed by the MPA. Furthermore, ASPAC claimed that since the software was designed to protect the interests of MPA members, ANCINE’s use of the software meant that Brazil’s cinema regulator was working in defense of Hollywood and against its rivals’ products.

Crucially, that included Brazilian films that receive no MPA protection, ASPAC claimed.

ASPAC further alleged that the deal should’ve been published in the Diário Oficial da União , the official journal of the federal government of Brazil. Instead, it had to resort to a freedom of information request to find out what had been agreed.

The letter was signed by ASPAC’s president; it called for a public consultation and an investigation into who was responsible for a deal that “does not comply with the minimum legal requirements and ends up distorting the very purpose of public policy.”

MPA: We Don’t Interfere, Anti-Piracy Work is Normal

In a statement to local publication Metropoles, Andressa Pappas, Director of Government Relations at the Motion Picture Association, said that support for copyright everywhere is effectively what the MPA is best known for.

“Supporting content protection and anti-piracy measures has always been one of MPA’s global key actions. As trusted advisors to authorities around the world, the MPA provides several tools, such as technical expertise and research, as it aims to defend a better scenario for audiovisual and copyright, including in Brazil,” Pappas said.

The MPA further added that it “does not interfere and has no impact on decisions taken within the scope of public administration” since it “respects the autonomy of public bodies and entities in Brazil.”

No Serious Issues Found, Damage Already Done

It was later revealed that ANCINE’s access to the Ether system would allow it to identify problematic ads related to set-top boxes and instances of copyright infringement on websites. The agreement allowed ANCINE to use that data for enforcement purposes, including against infringers directly and in support of site-blocking measures. ANCINE could use the system or not, there were no strict requirements. Some issues did remain, however.

The agreement was considered confidential and that ran counter to a requirement for transparency. Criticism from ASPAC held that by using a platform provided by the MPA and designed to protect its own content, ANCINE had effectively delegated its supervisory powers to the MPA.

That subsequently led to ANCINE announcing the previously-mentioned “reformulation” of its anti-piracy work and its move away from targeting pirate set-top boxes. ANCINE’s Anti-Piracy Coordinator, Eduardo Luiz Perfeito Carneiro, was dismissed, and his replacement was given a new title to reflect the new image and direction of ANCINE.

Carlos Chelfo, Copyright Protection Coordinator at ANCINE, was instructed to review work with the MPA to ensure that, moving forward, the protection of Brazilian content would always take priority. The deal itself was terminated .

And that’s why Brazil is causing such concern for the IIPA in the United States, and what prompted its comment to the USTR:

“This statement is troubling because it implies that ANCINE prioritizes the protection of domestic works and will not take actions to ensure the adequate and effective protection of works owned by U.S. rights holders, raising questions regarding Brazil’s international obligations.” IIPA to USTR – 2024 Special 301 Review

In isolation, it might sound that Brazil suddenly became uncooperative for no reason. With context, it simply shows both countries putting their own interests first. How the that will be viewed at the USTR and reflected in the Special 301 Report will be revealed in just a few weeks.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Brazil’s crackdown against pirate sites, IPTV services, infringing apps, and other mechanisms delivering illegal content to the masses, continues to press ahead.

In the wake of similar operations in previous years, including action reported in August 2022 , a new phase of Brazil’s ‘Operation 404’ anti-piracy initiative was announced on Tuesday.

Operation 404.5 – Phase 5

The launch of the 5th phase of Operation 404 is described by Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) as an “international mobilization” coordinated by the MJSP, through the National Secretariat for Public Security (Senasp), with support from police in eight states.

“The objective is the removal of audio and video content, such as games and music, blocking and suspension of illegal streaming websites and applications, de-indexing of content in search engines and removal of profiles and pages on social networks,” an MJSP announcement reads.

“In this 5th phase, eleven people were arrested: four in São Paulo, two in Paraná, one in Bahia and four in Minas Gerais,” the government ministry reports.

Search and seizure warrants to locate computer equipment were executed in the states of Pernambuco, São Paulo, Paraná, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Bahia, Ceará and Rio de Janeiro.

“199 illegal streaming and gaming sites and 63 music apps were also removed, in addition to blocking 128 domains,” the ministry says.

A total of six “messaging app channels” with more than 4,000 subscribers were also blocked, reportedly for distributing music that had not been officially released.

International Cooperation

The local operation received significant international support. Authorities say they collaborated with the UK’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit and the British Embassy, Peruvian intellectual property protection agency INDECOPI, MPA Latin American, anti-piracy group Alianza, and US-based videogame industry group Entertainment Software Alliance (ESA).

TorrentFreak obtained what appears to be a notice directed toward visitors to seized sites and domains. In addition to the groups listed above, it reveals the participation of the UK’s Intellectual Property Office, the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, Brazil-based music industry group APDIF, and global music industry group IFPI.

According to the latest figures, Operation 404 has led to the blocking of 1,974 websites and 783 apps since it began in 2019. The names of the sites and apps are never mentioned in material released to the public.

During a Ministry of Justice press conference Tuesday, there was a clear effort to associate pirate sites with malware and a “certainty” that people downloading music or watching pirate streams would have their private information exposed.

That led to a moment of unexpected dark humor (and concerned faces) when a journalist suddenly mentioned a Globo report containing claims that Brazil operated a secret system capable of monitoring the locations of up to 10,000 people by simply entering their phone numbers.

Focus on Pirate TV Services

A key focus area for Brazilian authorities is the illegal TV market, encompassing pirate IPTV services, illegal streaming websites, and the flood of set-top boxes that have saturated the local market.

In a late December 2022 announcement, Brazil’s National Film Agency (ANCINE) revealed a “reformulation” of its anti-piracy operations. Citing overlapping activities that risked straying into areas where the National Telecommunications Agency (ANATEL) has authority, ANCINE said that it would “ move away ” from actions targeting the TV piracy market.

Moving forward, ANCINE said that its focus would be on the protection of locally produced audiovisual works. As a result, technical cooperation with the Motion Picture Association in Latin America would come to an end .

The involvement of the MPA in the 5th phase of Operation 404 suggests that overall cooperation continued.

Earlier this year, ANATEL said that its work to disrupt the pirate TV market would continue using various means. Increased pressure on the sale of non-certified, non-approved set-top boxes, for example, and actions against illegal pay TV services that distribute content via the internet or otherwise rely on it.

Following our report last summer that Brazil planned to visit Portugal and Spain to learn more about their ISP blocking programs, we can confirm those visits went ahead and that Brazil views widespread blocking as a key weapon in the fight against piracy.

ANCINE and ANATEL Announce New Partnership

After announcing the signing of a ‘Technical Cooperation Agreement’ last week, it appears that ANCINE and ANATEL will now work together to combat pirate TV services.

The agreement covers an initial period of 24 months and will see ANCINE tracking and monitoring pirate services. Based on ANCINE’s complaints, ANATEL is expected to issue instructions to ISPs for the services to be blocked.

“With this exchange of information, ANCINE will signal the content that is being transmitted illegally and ANATEL may request the blocking of the channel or the pirated site”, says ANATEL’s Moisés Moreira.

“The idea of ​​this exchange of information is to have speed, because in a case involving a sports match, for example, you have to be quick. It’s a different scenario from a website or channel that is, for example, airing a TV series.”

Last month ANATEL said it had already begun blocking IP addresses in an effort to disrupt ‘ gatonets ‘, a mishmash of subscription piracy TV services accessed via set-top decoders, IPTV devices, and various software applications.

In a move designed to protect Japanese animation content, last month Brazilian authorities said they had shut down two of the largest dedicated anime piracy sites in the region.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Despite taking significant action to reduce all kinds of online piracy, Brazil remains on the United States Trade Representative’s ‘ Watch List ‘. Lack of effort doesn’t appear to be the problem, however.

The São Paulo Court of Justice ordered major ISPs to block file-hosting platform Mega in 2019, but within days the ruling was overturned . That didn’t matter too much though as much bigger things lay ahead.

Last year Brazil filed a criminal complaint against Yout.com, a stream-ripping site currently in a legal spat with the RIAA in the United States. The platform was blocked by ISPs and this June, Yout’s operator was offered a deal that would see him avoid prison but take on additional risks.

Brazilian authorities are currently immersed in Operation 404, a campaign to seriously disrupt the IPTV and web streaming piracy landscape. This year alone there have been multiple arrests , domain seizures , and claims that hundreds of apps have been taken down or blocked.

But with basics such as removing piracy apps from Google Play apparently still an issue, Brazil says its now ready to commit to a program of ISP blocking to prevent IPTV and other streaming-based piracy. In previous cases the courts were involved and while that might still be required initially, so-called ‘administrative blocking’ could be just around the corner.

Agencies Team Up to Streamline Blocking

The project is the work of ‘ Ancine ‘ (Agência Nacional do Cinema) and telecoms regulator Anatel (Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações). Both are administratively independent agencies, with the former operating under the supervision of Brazil’s Ministry of Culture and the latter operating under powers inherited from the Ministry of Communications.

Since 2018, Brazil’s Plano de Ação de Combate à Pirataria (Action Plan to Combat Piracy/PACP) has sought to counter the country’s piracy problems but with support from ABTA, the Brazilian Pay TV/Telecom Association (Associação Brasileira de Televisão por Assinatura), Ancine and Anatel want a rapid and streamlined ISP blocking system.

Commenting on the agency’s involvement in Operation 404, last month Anatel’s Superintendent of Inspection, Hermano Tercius, said that site-blocking had been taking place “in a judicial way” but a system without such complications would be better placed to combat piracy. Those sentiments have been around for some time but the pieces are now falling into place.

Blocking Program Formalized

During the Pay-TV Forum event in São Paulo last week, a joint Anatel/Anacine announcement revealed that the proposal had cleared Ancine’s technical department and been approved by its directors. From there it was received by Anatel, with Vice-President Moisés Queiroz confirming that following a consolidation process, things should move quickly.

“We are formalizing the technical cooperation agreement, which has already been approved by Ancine’s board, is now in Anatel’s technical area and will go up to the Board of Directors, where it will certainly be approved as well,” Queiroz said.

Ancine director Tiago Mafra dos Santos said that a strategy that takes advantage of the tools available to both regulatory agencies will prove most effective.

“Ancine cannot walk alone, and neither can Anatel. There are functions of both that compliment each other. There is no content distribution without going through telecommunications,” he said.

The details of the blocking program were not revealed but given that executives from Anatal will travel to Europe in September, that provides more than a nod towards the model they hope to emulate.

Portugal – The ‘Gold Standard’ in ISP Blocking

It’s not just the shared language that makes Portugal a destination for Anatel. Portugal’s administrative site-blocking scheme is operated with assistance from the Inspectorate General for Cultural Activities (IGAC) and is designed to deal with copyright complaints quickly and without judicial oversight.

Each month, anti-piracy group MAPiNET is able to report up to 100 websites to IGAC, which carries out an evaluation within 48 hours. Once approved for blocking, the list is sent local ISPs to implement a DNS blocking regime within another 48 hours. In 2018, the program was updated to deal with “live blocking”, i.e dealing with IPTV providers offering live sports and similar time-sensitive content.

This entirely voluntary system is supported by rightsholders, advertisers and trade associations, plus every major ISP in Portugal. It is viewed by rightsholders as a particularly effective system to reduce infringement and due to standardization, is both predictable and cheap, especially when compared with court processes that can turn out to be neither.

Anatel representatives will also travel to Spain where the country’s Sinde Law and voluntary arrangements facilitate administrative blocking. It’s a little early for certainties but it seems likely that rightsholders would prefer Brazil to follow the Portuguese model when blocking is implemented in 2023, as the current plan envisions.

WIPO – Advisory Committee on Enforcement

In the meantime, Brazil is one of four countries set to share its anti-piracy experiences during the fifteenth session of WIPO’s Advisory Committee on Enforcement which begins late August in Geneva.

A document made available in advance of the event features contributions from Eduardo Luiz Perfeito Carneiro, Head of Anti-Piracy at Ancine, and Brazil’s National Council for Combating Piracy and Intellectual Property Crimes (CNCP).

Summary of key points as follows (all in respect of Ancine activities):

• Full access to data held by federal government agencies
• Access to data held by movie and TV show companies on piracy activities
• Already blocked 1,000+ streaming sites (Operation 404)
• Assists police during the execution of search-and-seizure warrants
• 1.5 million illegal streaming devices seized in 2020-2021
• Some ‘illegal devices’ donated to schools, hospitals, police
• Since joining WIPO Alert, 300 pirate sites listed for advertising boycotts
• Brazil’s site blocking plans ‘inspired’ by blocking in the UK and Portugal
• Quick and Effective site blocking may be the only way to contain piracy

The WIPO document is available here ( pdf )

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.