A black mark on your licence and hefty fines — is it worth it?

Record fines are being dished out to pubs that show Sky football via domestic contracts. John Harrington reports

What's the offence?

Using a domestic Sky card to screen Sky football in a pub is a breach of the Copyright Designs & Patents Act and carries a maximum fine of £5,000 per offence.

What fines have been handed out?

Between £50 and several thousand per criminal offence. This is often swollen by prosecution costs. Earlier this month pub group director Damien Morgan was ordered to pay a record £21,843 in a criminal prosecution for domestic screenings at three pubs. Nearly half of the pay-out — £9,828 — was in prosecution costs. Morgan, of London operator Metro Bar and D&M Taverns, was fined £1,500 for each of eight offences — quite a standard amount per offence, according to Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact) prosecution manager Stephen Gerrard.

Are licensees liable to pay compensation to Sky?

In many cases, yes. Magistrates can award compensation, but Gerrard says Fact doesn't ask for it. There have been 10 cases where compensation has been awarded in criminal prosecutions since the start of 2005, during which time there have been 500 successful prosecutions. One pub company boss suggested that the level of fines may mean it is worth using the domestic package because commercial contracts are so expensive. However, Sky says it follows up criminal convictions with civil action — which can prove extremely costly for the licensee. More than 200 civil actions have either been settled out of court or led to fines. John McGowen, director of London pub company Irish Pubs, paid £65,000 in an out-of-court settlement in 2006. Court injunctions are also obtained to stop hosts from continuing to use domestic cards.

What other penalties can licensees expect?

Your personal licence is at risk. Last May Brett Roberts, former licensee of the India Arms, Southsea, Hampshire, was stripped of his personal licence by magistrates for domestic Sky screenings. Since then a handful of hosts have also had licences suspended for anything between seven days and six months for the offence. That's not all — licensees who are prosecuted get a criminal record, which can come back to haunt them when applying for bank loans or jobs. "If employers find they have a dishonesty offence it could seriously affect their chances," says Gerrard. Hosts must notify the local authority that granted their personal licence if they are convicted — a black mark on their record. In short, the message is: it's not worth it.

How do you know if a pub is using a domestic card and how can you report it?

The pint icon, known as the "bug" (see right), will be seen at the bottom of the screens on commercial cards. Call Sky's anonymous line on 0870 6077 900 to report suspected abuses.

My local pub continues to screen football via a domestic package. I've contacted Sky but the screenings continue. Why is this?

Gerrard says: "Our investigations take place over a long period of time. If someone says to me the landlord of a pub [is screening football via domestic contracts] it could be three or four months before the investigation concludes and then we have to go to court. It's not like drink driving, where police can catch someone and they can be in court the next day."

What do licensees do to disguise the fact they're using a domestic package?

MA legal editor Peter Coulson says some hosts have been known to mock-up their own "bug"; for example, by using correction fluid on sticky plastic and sticking it on the screen. "Fact is wise to that now. If they visit a pub with no Sky [commercial] contract and they see what looks like the bug on the screen they know something's wrong." Other techniques known by prosecutors include giving a house number rather than the pub's name when ordering a domestic card or using a card purchased by someone else.

Does the foreign satellite football appeal by Portsmouth licensee Karen Murphy have any bearing on court action for domestic screenings at pubs?

No, although Gerrard says Fact does share information and intelligence with Media Protection Services, which investigates screenings via foreign satellite systems.

How many prosecutions have there been and how many are coming up?

More than 700 successful prosecutions have taken place so far, including more than 170 this football season, according to Fact and Sky. There are a further 100 cases with court cases scheduled or pending.