Although the Premier League lost its case on football brodcasting in the European Court today, and hence Sky lost as well, the outcome will not change that much, at least in the short run, although no doubt further litigation will follow.
Although the Premier League lost its case on football brodcasting in the European Court today, and hence Sky lost as well, the outcome will not change that much, at least in the short run, although no doubt further litigation will follow.
One of the ironies of the judgment is that pub landlady Karen Murphy, whose use of decoded Greek brodcasts started the whole case, has also lost out. This is because the Court made a distinction between the matches themselves and accompanying material. The football matches themselves were judged not to constitute ‘works’ in the meaning of copyright law, i.e., they are not an author’s intellectual creation.
However, the opening video sequence, the Premier League anthem, pre-recorded films showing highlights of recent matches and various graphics can be regarded as ‘works’ and hence are protected by copyright law. The transmission in a pub of broadcasts containing these protected works is a breach of copyright law (and as far as I know there is no practical means of blotting out these elements of the broadcast).
What the Court makes clear in its judgment is that ‘national legislation which prohibits the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the freedom to provide services and cannot be justified … by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums.’
Payment by broadcasters of a premium to secure territorial exclusivity could, in the view of the Court, lead to artificial prce differences between national markets which is ‘irreconcilable with the fundamental aim of the [EU] Treaty, which is completion of the internal market.’