The landscape is changing in the use of pirate content as a few days ago, the law that clarifies the criminal offense for the end user of illegal access to protected content, and also reportedly signed the joint ministerial decision of the Ministries of Culture and Finance, which implements the implementation of the fines and the procedures.
The relevant Government Gazette is expected to be issued in the coming days.
What does the JMD and the new legislative framework foreseen
The use of pirate services is accompanied by significant risks and has adverse effects on end users. In particular:
Users’ illegal access to protected content becomes clearly a criminal offense punishable by imprisonment of at least one year and a fine of at least 2,900 euros, while the criminal proceedings is accelerated.
It also provides for the imposition of an administrative fine on the end user of pirate subscription, to those who promote illegal, public, protected content, with or without commercial benefit (pirates, pirate activists, cafes and bars with illegal subscriptions) and to those who advertise themselves.
The administrative fines are 750 euros for the end user, 1,500 euros for pirate activists and 5,000 euros when there is illegal commercial activity (for pirates, cafes and bars, etc. and for those who advertise pirate services or advertise them). In case of relapse, administrative fines are doubled (1,500, 3,000 and 10,000 euros respectively).
It is worth noting that the offense is eliminated when the offender pays twice the fine (2×750 euros for the end user).
Piracy in Greece
Piraeus of audiovisual content in Greece is a long -term problem, which contributes to profits for creators, subscription providers and the state.
According to a recent study by the Center for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) on behalf of the audiovisual project protection company (EPO), the total annual impact on the country’s GDP from audiovisual piracy is estimated at over € 400 million.
It is estimated that jobs lost each year even exceed 5,000 (a total of economy). Tax losses from pay TV (VAT, 10%special fee) are estimated at up to € 59 million a year, while losses for the domestic legal market amount to up to € 162 million a year.
Source: Skai
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