Decoders are a 'rip-off'
Pubs sold foreign decoders for screening Premier League football are victims of "an old-fashioned rip-off," London's High Court was told.
The claim came at a landmark legal battle between the Premier League (PL) and satellite suppliers QC Leisure and AV Station. Host Karen Murphy — fighting a separate foreign satellite football appeal — has been called as a defence witness.
The PL wants a ban on importing, selling, advertising and installing decoders.
James Mellor, for the PL, said QC and AV get decoder cards from Greece and north Africa and sell them to UK pubs for "a fat profit".
He said: "It is a good old-fashioned rip-off." Mellor said of suppliers saying cards were 100% legal: "They are deceiving their customers and the public."
The defendants deny breaking copyright law and claim attempts to stop them selling the cards is in breach of the EC Treaty, which guarantees the right of free trade between member states. The hearing continues.
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