Cable TV Association Expands Piracy Fight with New Office in Honduras

By Bufete Mejia & Asociados

The Association of Programmers, Distributors and Agents of Cable Television Channels for Central America (APRODICA) presented a report on the impact of online piracy in Honduras at an event held in San Pedro Sula. The report, prepared by the Center for Telecommunications Studies of Latin America (CET.LA), details the scope of audiovisual piracy and its negative effects on the country's industry and economy.

The event was attended by Luis Mauricio Torres Alcocer, coordinator of CET.LA; Rodolfo Mendoza Yaquian, executive director of APRODICA; and Dagoberto Aspra Castellanos, APRODICA manager in Honduras. The speakers outlined the current state of piracy in the country and highlighted the main challenges Honduras faces in the fight against the illegal distribution of audiovisual content. Possible solutions were also discussed, such as collaborating with national authorities to improve laws and enforcement.

One of the most important announcements during the event was APRODICA's request to open a branch office in Honduras. The organization seeks to establish a stronger presence in the country to collaborate with the government in protecting intellectual property rights and combating piracy. With this branch, APRODICA hopes to strengthen its work with the institutions responsible for fighting crimes related to intellectual property.

Digital piracy is a notable issue worldwide. Technological advances have made it very easy and efficient to spread pirated content. Unfortunately, this content competes unfairly with legitimate services in e-commerce. It disrupts the distribution networks that copyright holders and online platforms use to provide licensed content.  

Access to and unauthorized delivery of TV programming take many forms. They use different technologies. And, as new legitimate delivery methods have developed, new forms of piracy have also emerged to bypass these legitimate delivery systems. For example, we see piracy through digital piracy, cable piracy, satellite signal piracy, and illegal transmission devices. 

Honduras, in particular, continues to have one of the highest rates of signal piracy in Latin America and the Caribbean, with lack of enforcement being an ongoing problem. Unauthorized distributors may also steal “overspill” broadcast or satellite signals from neighboring countries, access broadcast signals, or otherwise hack set-top boxes to allow consumers unauthorized access to copyrighted content, including premium cable channels. Hotels remain common sites of this type of infringement as they may use their own on-site facilities to intercept programing services and retransmit them throughout the hotel without paying right holders.