Pub Landlady Wins Historic Case which May Have Ramifications for Premier League
October 4, 2011
Karen Murphy a pub landlady has won her battle to air Premier League games using a foreign TV decoder in the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
Karen Murphy had to pay nearly £8,000 in fines and costs for using a cheaper Greek decoder in her Portsmouth pub to bypass controls over match screening. But she took her case to the ECJ.
The ECJ now says national laws which prohibit the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards are contrary to the freedom to provide services.
The decision could have monumental repercussions for the Premier League and its current exclusive agreements with Sky Sports and ESPN, and set a precedent of cheaper viewing of foreign broadcasts for fans of top-flight English games.
The ECJ said national legislation, which banned the use of overseas decoders, could not “be justified either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums”.
Mrs Murphy said: “My reaction is relief, excitement, I’m thrilled. It has taken rather a long time, this has been going on for six years, but obviously it’s been worth it. It’s taken quite a chunk of my life but I’m glad I took it on. It’s been like Karen versus Goliath.”
“It has been a rollercoaster, highs and lows, nerves… It has been a strange time and I am glad it is coming to an end. I feel I have taken on the Premier League and Sky.”
Mrs Murphy said she no longer had a decoder box in her Red, White and Blue pub and would wait for the “stamp of approval” from the High Court before reinstating it.
The ECJ findings will now go to the High Court in London, which had sent the matter to the ECJ for guidance, for a final ruling.
However, the court structure in the UK makes it highly unlikely the decision in the ECJ will be overturned by the state High Court.
Daniel Geey , Sports media lawyer of Field Fisher Waterhouse solicitors, said: “In practical terms, the Premier League will now have to decide how it wishes to re-tender its rights. There can be little doubt it will have contingency plans ready to go and has various options available.
“Be it a pan-EU tender, selling in only certain EU member states or devising a plan to start its own channel, they will be deciding how best to maximise the value of their product to ensure any revenue shortfall is minimised.”
The judges said the Premier League could not claim copyright over Premier League matches as they could not considered to be an author’s own “intellectual creation” and, therefore, to be “works” for the purposes of EU copyright law.
But, the ECJ did hasten to add that while live matches were not protected by copyright, any surrounding media, such as any opening video sequence, the Premier League anthem, pre-recorded films showing highlights of recent Premier League matches and various graphics, were “works” protected by copyright.
To use these extra parts a pub would need the permission of the Premier League. This will make it hard for pubs to showcase the games as most games include these extras and therfore breach copyright law.
By ensuring that its branding was on screen all the time, the league may be able to claim pubs were in breach of this ECJ ruling on copyright.
Related discussion: European Court of Justice ruling by Colin Robinson