Community service for football cheat
A London licensee has been ordered to do 100 hours of community service work after he was caught showing Sky Sports in his pub using a domestic viewing card.
The Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), working on behalf of Sky, prosecuted Hardev Bharaj, licensee of The Lord Clyde in Hounslow.
Bharaj pleaded guilty at Brentford Magistrates Court on 26th January 2007.
We are committed to protecting the interests of our legitimate pub customers A spokesperson for Sky.
The court sentenced him to 100 hours of compulsory unpaid work and to pay full costs of £786.68 for three infringement dates where Sky was shown in the premises on a domestic viewing agreement rather than by the correct Sky Business commercial viewing agreement.
This was the first time that a licensee prosecuted by FACT for this offence has been given a Community Order instead of a fine.
Jim Angell, FACT Director of Operations, said: "Working together with Sky we continue to pursue and prosecute those licensees who are fraudulently showing Sky programmes in their premises.
"We have successfully prosecuted over 600 licensees under section 297 (1) of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988."
A spokesperson for Sky said: "We are committed to protecting the interests of our legitimate pub customers by undertaking a number of activities that ultimately can lead to the prosecution of companies or individuals who choose to enjoy the benefits of Sky without the proper commercial contract.
"Our investigators visit licensed premises continually and we fully support FACT's efforts to prosecute licensees who break the law."
