On 20 July 2026 Brazil’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security (MJSP) reported the results of Operation Red Card (Operação Cartão Vermelho) against World Cup piracy: 309 domains and 109 IP addresses blocked and 348 Telegram channels and groups taken down. The operation shows that Brazil anti-piracy enforcement now runs on coordinated blocking by several agencies, in cooperation with the United States and seven other countries. For European broadcasters, sports bodies and brands entering Brazil, these routes work only if your rights and documents are ready.
Update (October 2026): on 12 August 2026 Teletime reported that Anatel and Ancine are coordinating anti-piracy action internationally, including regular contacts with ICANN on network abuse and cooperation with South Korea’s regulator.
Key takeaways
- Operation Red Card ran in nine countries, coordinated by the US Department of Justice and Homeland Security Investigations.
- In Brazil it blocked 309 domains and 109 IPs, removed 348 Telegram channels and groups and, by court order, de-indexed the 309 domains from search engines.
- Ancine has had a statutory power since January 2024 to order the suspension of unauthorised use of protected audiovisual works.
- Trademark protection in Brazil comes from registration at the INPI; most trademark crimes are prosecuted only on the holder’s complaint.
What happened in Operation Red Card?
According to the MJSP announcement of 20 July 2026, police and justice bodies from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and the United States acted together. In Brazil, the ministry’s Cyber Operations Laboratory (Ciberlab) led the action with the Civil Police of Pernambuco, with support from the telecoms regulator Anatel, the film and audiovisual agency Ancine and the pay-TV association ABTA.
| Result in Brazil | Figure |
|---|---|
| Domains blocked and de-indexed from search engines | 309 |
| IP addresses used for illegal retransmission blocked | 109 |
| Telegram channels and groups dismantled | 348 |
| Users whose access to illegal streams was interrupted | More than 1.5 million |
The targets were networks profiting from illegal retransmission of World Cup matches (clandestine IPTV, unauthorised streaming, pirate link channels) and from counterfeit goods such as team shirts, sticker albums and sporting goods. Piracy Monitor describes it as Brazil’s part of the wider US-led “Operation Offsides”.
How does Brazil anti-piracy enforcement work?
Red Card combined tools that rights holders can also use year-round:
- Ancine. Article 3 of Law 14,815 of 15 January 2024 gives Ancine power to order the suspension and cessation of unauthorised use of protected Brazilian or foreign works, including measures that prevent their transmission, access, hosting or availability. In March 2026 its board approved a normative instruction allowing it to act on its own initiative and order blocking of IP addresses and URLs, with 48 hours to remove content or file a counter-notice (Teletime, 26 March 2026).
- Anatel. Its anti-piracy laboratory blocks the servers behind illegal TV boxes and IPTV; in 2025 it reported 198 blocking operations, with over 24,000 IPs and 7,000 URLs monitored or taken down (Convergência Digital, 5 November 2025).
- Customs. Under Article 198 of the Industrial Property Law (Law 9,279/1996), customs may seize goods bearing counterfeit marks on its own initiative or at the request of the interested party.
- Criminal complaints. Reproducing a registered mark or selling goods bearing it without authorisation are crimes (Articles 189 and 190), but, except for Article 191, they are prosecuted only on the holder’s private complaint (Article 199).
- Civil action. The holder can sue for damages, with preliminary relief to stop the infringement before the defendant is served (Articles 207 to 209); the damages claim is time-barred after five years (Article 225).
What European rights holders need before entering Brazil
The blocking machinery is public, but a foreign rights holder still has to prove what it owns. Under Article 129 of Law 9,279, trademark ownership in Brazil is acquired by registration; unregistered well-known marks get special protection under Article 126, but that is a harder route. Brazil has applied the Madrid Protocol since 2 October 2019, according to WIPO Lex, so a European mark can be extended there through an international registration.
For broadcasts and audiovisual content, the key is documentary proof of title and of who holds the Brazilian rights. Foreign documents such as powers of attorney and licences can be authenticated by apostille, since the Apostille Convention has been in force for Brazil since 14 August 2016 (HCCH status table), and usually need Portuguese translations.
What this means for your business
- File or extend your marks in Brazil before launch, in the classes that cover merchandise as well as your core goods.
- Prepare a rights dossier: registrations, licence chain for Brazil, apostilled powers of attorney and translations.
- Decide the route by type of infringement: Ancine or Anatel for illegal streams, customs for imported goods, criminal complaints or civil action for sellers.
- Collect evidence in a usable form: dated captures, test purchases, URLs and IP data.
Our anti-piracy and IP enforcement services for Latin America coordinate local correspondents in Brazil with your European portfolio, and our international trademark team can handle the Madrid extension.
Where rights holders get this wrong
- Arriving without a Brazilian registration. Without it, customs action and trademark crime complaints are much harder.
- Waiting for the authorities. Most trademark crimes require the holder’s complaint; nothing happens without one.
- Unclear rights chains. If the Brazilian licensee and the European owner cannot show who holds which rights, blocking requests stall.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign rights holder ask Ancine to block pirate streams?
Ancine’s power under Law 14,815/2024 covers protected Brazilian and foreign works. Its 2026 normative instruction lets it act on its own initiative while still accepting notifications from rights holders, according to Teletime. A foreign holder must be ready to prove title, usually through local counsel.
Do I need a Brazilian trademark registration to stop counterfeits?
In practice, yes. Brazilian law grants trademark ownership through registration at the INPI, and the trademark crimes in Law 9,279 refer to registered marks. Well-known marks are protected without registration, but proving notoriety is slow and costly.
Can I extend my European trademark to Brazil through Madrid?
Yes. Brazil has been a member of the Madrid Protocol since 2 October 2019, so you can designate it in a new international application or a subsequent designation based on your Spanish, EU or other national mark. Objections are then handled before the INPI with a local representative.
Can IP Global Guard handle enforcement in Brazil for my company?
Yes. We prepare the rights dossier, extend your marks through Madrid and coordinate local correspondents in Brazil for complaints to the authorities, customs measures and civil or criminal actions. You keep a single point of contact.
How IP Global Guard can support your entry into Brazil
Operation Red Card shows that Brazil can act quickly against piracy, but only for rights holders who can prove what they own. IP Global Guard, the IP services line of META Channel Corporation Limited, coordinates registrations and enforcement across more than 25 jurisdictions in Europe, Latin America and Africa, with one strategy and one billing relationship.
Share your launch timeline for Brazil, the marks and content you need to protect and any infringements already spotted. We will check your registrations and documents and set out the enforcement routes. Get in touch with our Latin America team.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reflects the position on its publication date.
Sources
- MJSP, Operação Cartão Vermelho in nine countries (20 July 2026)
- Piracy Monitor, Operation Red Card: Brazil’s part in Operation Offsides (21 July 2026)
- Planalto, Law 14,815 of 15 January 2024
- Planalto, Industrial Property Law 9,279 of 14 May 1996
- Teletime, Ancine approves anti-piracy normative instruction (26 March 2026)
- Convergência Digital, Anatel blocked 24,000 pirate IPs in 2025 (5 November 2025)
- WIPO Lex, Madrid Protocol contracting parties (database)
- HCCH, Apostille Convention status table (database)
- Teletime, Anatel and Ancine coordinate global anti-piracy action (12 August 2026, update only)
