Advocate Eran Pizanti, who led the fight against online piracy, has passed away
One of Israel's most influential intellectual property experts, Advocate Eran Pizanti, has passed away at 56. He was widely known for his leading role in the fight against online piracy.
One of the most prominent and influential voices in the field of intellectual property in Israel, and the man who became a symbol of the fight against online piracy, has passed away. Advocate Eran Pizanti, partner and founder of the intellectual property practice at the Firon law firm, passed away this past weekend from cardiac arrest at the age of 56. For Israeli internet users, his name was identified primarily with the highly publicized fight of the Zira organization against download sites and illegal streaming services.
3 decades of fighting piracy
Although in the last decade his name made headlines mainly around the fight against apps and websites, the late Pizanti began his career in the field back in 1997. In those days, piracy was expressed mainly in the physical duplication of video tapes and discs. With the development of the internet and the arrival of broadband in many more homes, Pizanti moved to focus on download sites and the distribution of content online. Already in 2005, he was involved in legal proceedings against sites and services that allowed access to pirated content.
In 2011, he became the legal advisor to the Zira organization (Copyrights on the Internet) and its most recognizable face. The organization brings together some of the largest content bodies in Israel – including Keshet, the Sports Channel, yes, HOT, Charlton, and NMC United – and acts against the distribution of proprietary content in a pirated manner. Over the years, the organization succeeded in closing torrent trackers, subtitle sites, and download sites, and Pizanti led precedent-setting legal moves, including blocking access to popular services like "Popcorn Time" at the internet service provider level. In addition, he managed a long and particularly intense fight against the operators of the "Sdarot" site.
Did not fear the "bad guy" image
Throughout the years, Pizanti absorbed intense criticism online from users who saw him as a representative of powerful media corporations. In past interviews, he said that he was aware of the "bad guy" image that stuck to him, but emphasized:
"I try to convey the messages because I truly believe in them."
According to him, behind every Israeli series stand screenwriters, directors, and actors who make a living from it, and pirated viewing directly harms the royalties of the creators themselves, and not just the profits of the large broadcasting bodies.
Head of the Firon firm, Advocate Zvi Firon, eulogized him: "All of us at the firm are shocked and pained by his passing. It is hard to process that he is gone. Eran was a brilliant jurist but above all a dear and beloved person." Pizanti left behind a wife and three children.
