Prosecutions for use of foreign satellites to continue
Prosecutions of licensees who use foreign satellites to screen football will continue - despite a pub winning its case against the Premier League.
The league has told The Publican it is going ahead with another 38 prosecutions it has in the pipeline against licensees.
Last month Brian Gannon of the Fisherman's Inn at Littleborough, near Rochdale, won a Crown Court appeal against his prosecution.
The case came about after locals at the pub watched a Chelsea vs Birmingham City match in August 2004, via a foreign satellite system. The judge claimed he was not "sufficiently satisfied" Mr Gannon had acted dishonestly and found in his favour.
Paul Dixon, head of licensing and regulatory affairs for solicitors Molesworths Bright Clegg - who represented Mr Gannon - claimed it had been a "landmark" case. "While this was about a 'closed period' match, the generic principles apply to all live satellite broadcasts of Premier League matches," he said. "It is a benchmark decision on the issue of criminal liability."
However, the Premier League and Media Protection Services claim this was a one-off case and the prosecutions under copyright law will continue. Last Monday another two licensees were prosecuted after admitting using foreign decoders.
Ray Hoskin, managing director of Media Protection Services - which is running the prosecutions for the Premier League - says the judge had indicated the Gannon case would not set a precedent for future cases. He said: "This case is a red herring. The law has not changed."
Dan Johnson, spokesman for the Premier League, confirmed it would be stepping up its enforcement by targeting the satellite suppliers. A satellite supplier was recently raided in Hartlepool and legal actions are pending.
"We are trying to take action against suppliers under the Trade Descriptions Act as they are deceiving publicans and passing it off as being okay," he said.
What is the law?
The FA Premier League (FAPL) does not allow any British broadcaster to show Premiership games on a Saturday afternoon between 2.45pm and 5.15pm - called the "closed period".
The FAPL owns the copyright to the matches and is protecting its interests under copyright law.
Media Protection Services, which is conducting the prosecutions, says that it has taken in excess of 120 licensees to court - three have won their cases. Only three have appealed and Mr Gannon is the only one to win his case.
Football rights to be split
The European Commission has formally approved the agreement over the sales of Premier League football.
A deal between the Premier League and the European Commission (EC) means that six packages of games will now be auctioned off to TV broadcasters with no one company being able to bid for all the packages. This means that Sky will no longer have the full rights to show Premier League football from 2007.
