Licensing@aol.com

Right to air sporting events

QThere has been a lot of press about the illegality of showing Premiership football other than through Sky, as the Premier League owns the copyright, but what about non-Premiership football and other sports? I'd like to show Champions League football, Guinness rugby and horse racing - can I do this through one of the many "foreign" systems or do the same copyright rules apply?

A I am afraid that the situation is more or less the same for all these other sporting events. The copyright in them has been assigned by the relevant governing bodies, usually for a considerable payment by the broadcaster, to Sky, which then controls output in the UK. If you show a Sky channel without the necessary commercial viewing licence, you risk prosecution.

While these other sports are not as high-profile in pub terms as Premiership football, the same legislation and copyright laws cover them and a breach can be pursued not just by Sky, but also by the original copyright-holders themselves. It is unlikely, however, that they will do it themselves. It would be left to Sky or perhaps trading standards officers who, these days, take an interest in illegal screenings.

Curtailing food at weekends

QWe inherited a premises licence that formerly had an extension on Friday and Saturday nights until 1am, which was converted on transition as it stood. This means that we must have music, dancing and substantial refreshment during the extended hours. This is proving difficult to sustain every weekend. Can we stop serving food under the new laws?

A Not if the provision of food is a condition of the premises licence, which it will be if the special hours certificate was converted. Although it is now possible to have longer hours without attached conditions (eg, for alcohol service only), you have to apply to the licensing authority for any restrictions to be removed.

Stopping food service at weekends while continuing with bar service will technically be a breach of conditions and render you liable to prosecution under section 136 of the new Licensing Act.

You need a variation of the licence to remove the condition, but you will have to justify this to the authority, as it is likely that you will be faced with representations from responsible authorities who may be worried that the removal of the food and/or entertainment conditions will make the premises more disorderly than before. As there is clearly a link in the authorities' minds between late drinking and disorder, you will have to work hard to justify removal of these "safeguard" conditions.

Off-sales when bar closed

QSomeone has told us that it is illegal to make off-sales when we have closed the bar, eg, on weekday afternoons. If we are there, we serve people who call. Does our licence cover this?

AYes - you can sell in the afternoons, just like any other off-licence holder. I suspect there is a misunderstanding that you are only allowed by the terms of your licence to sell "both on and off the premises" at the same time.

But nothing in the law says that pubs can't open at different times for different things throughout the day. You are entitled to close the bars of your house, but continue with off-sales in the afternoon. After all, it is still during the permitted hours for your premises. However, this doesn't apply to clubs operating under a premises certificate.