Pub landlady wins case against sky sports screening matches on "foreign decorder"

A pub landlady has won her legal battle against the Premier League over the screening of games in her pub using a 'foreign' television decoder.
Karen Murphy's victory at the European Court of Justice could now trigger a major shake-up for the league's current lucrative broadcasting agreements with Sky Sports and ESPN.
Pubs showing live matches could now be able to subscribe to foreign providers supplying coverage of the same fixtures for a lower price.
Mrs Murphy said her successful six-year legal battle had 'taken up quite a chunk of my life but I am glad I did it'.



Victory: Landlady Karen Murphy won her legal battle at the European Court of Justice against the Premier League over the screening of games in her pub using a 'foreign' television decoder



However, today's verdict also warned: 'The screening in a pub of football-match broadcasts containing protected works requires the authorisation of the author of those works.'
Such 'protected works', said the judges, could include the opening video sequence or the Premier League anthem, which is a matter for copyright. The ECJ ruled that only the opening video sequence and pre-recorded clips showing highlights of recent matches and graphics could be protected by copyright.

'By contrast, the matches themselves are not works enjoying such protection,' added the ruling.
Pubs would have to obtain permission to broadcast those opening sequences, said the ruling, but not the match itself.
Mrs Murphy was appealing her prosecution, arguing that she should have the right to access any service in the European Union.
Ms Murphy faced a fine and costs of almost £8,000 after she was taken to court by the League for using a Greek decoder and a subscription to Nova in her Portsmouth pub to screen matches, bypassing the League's own controls over where its matches are screened.
The decoder enabled Mrs Murphy to show games at a fraction of the annual £7,200 cost that Sky charges pubs to show its channels.
Her system meant she was also able to show games that kicked off at 3pm on Saturday, the broadcasting of which is prohibited by the current television agreement, because it is thought to stop fans actually attending matches, particularly in the lower leagues

She said broadcasters cannot stop pubs and other TV viewers watching Premier League football via foreign subscriptions available in other European countries because it breached EU laws.



Fighting for football: After seven months the European Court of Justice has upheld the advice that exclusive licensing is against EU law

At the time Mrs Murphy, 47, said: ‘I feel amazing, this is such a fantastic thing to have happened. If things stay in the same vein it could be a real victory for the little man in the end.’
Such opinions have no legal force, but the full court follows the Advocate-General's advice in about 80 per cent of cases.
In its judgment, the ECJ ruled: '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 either in light of the objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of encouraging the public to attend football stadiums.'


'This lady is now allowed to buy the cheapest decoder and play sport in her pub, and good for her.'


The ruling could make it cheaper for pubs to show matches such as Sunday's clash between Tottenham and Arsenal
But Tory MEP Emma McClarkin said the verdict delivered a blow to the funding of grassroots sport through television rights.


RECEIVING FOREIGN SIGNALS


Most countries in Europe have separate satellite broadcasting systems, sent from separate nationally commissioned satellites.
But because we are so 'near' countries such as Greece, satellite dishes in the UK can still receive signals from 'their' satellites, as long as one buys the right decoder.
The difference in price can be radical: Greek satellite decoders cost around a quarter of the UK subscription. But the Premier League has vigorously defended its right to ban 'foreign' decoders in the UK – and under current UK law, they are illegal.
The new EU ruling over-rules UK law, and could mean that the Premier League has to renegotiate its deals within Europe.


Doing so, said the Advocate-General, was in line with the aims of the EU single market - a border-free zone for goods and services.
'The marketing of broadcasting rights on the basis of territorial exclusivity is tantamount to profiting from the elimination of the internal market.'
The Premier League had already taken action against two suppliers of foreign satellite equipment and a group of pub landlords who used imported decoding equipment to show English Premier League games - avoiding the commercial premises subscription fees for Sky.
The case against the landlords has now been settled but the League is continuing action against the suppliers of decoders.
The European judges had been considering the case for seven months since the Advocate-General's opinion - pondering not just EU rules on the single market, but the TV without Frontiers Directive, the Satellites and Copyright Directive and the Copyright and Information Society Directive.
The implications of the ruling could not just affect the Premier League but every sport that sells broadcast rights on a country-by-country basis.
It is also how UEFA, for example, sell the rights for the Champions League. It could now affect the sale of TV programmes generally across Europe.
Premier League chiefs had anticipated that the ruling would go against them. But insiders insisted it wouldn't necessarily mean a drop in TV income from mainland Europe, which is around £130million, or less than 10 per cent of their total £1.4bn overseas rights deal.
One option will be for the Premier League to sell their domestic rights and European rights as one giant package, and another to have their own Premier League subscription TV channel available across Europe.




The European judgement advised that the opening video sequence or the Premier League anthem, are protected by copyright, but not the match itself