Four Bristol licensees fined for illegal Sky
Four Bristol licensees have been hit with fines and costs totalling £19,412.74 for showing Sky using a domestic card.
Alexandros Tryfonon and Kashif Rehman of Versa were found guilty in their absence of two offences and were ordered to pay £7,213.50 in fines and costs between them.
Susan Coombes and Alan Davis of The Princess of Wales also pleaded guilty to two offences and were ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £4,775.44 between them.
Andrew Calvey of Clifton Sports Bar was found guilty in his absence of two offences and faces fines and costs totalling £4,578.14.
Kieron Ward of the Forresters Arms pleaded guilty to four offences and was ordered to pay £2,845.66 in fines and costs.
The cases were all heard on 10 July 2008 at Bristol Magistrates Court where all licensees were convicted of dishonest reception of a television transmission contrary to Section 297 (1) of the Copyright Design and Patents Act 1988.
"Our aim is to help create an effective deterrent to publicans who endeavour to fraudulently show Sky content on their premises," said Federation Against Copyright Theft prosecution manager Stephen Gerrard.
"As numerous cases have shown we successfully pursue and prosecute dishonest licensees who are then faced with substantial fines, costs and a criminal record."
A spokesperson for Sky added: "These cases demonstrate the seriousness of this issue as courts continue to deliver considerable penalties to licensees who televise Sky content illegally.
"Sky's ongoing support for FACT in prosecuting licensees who break the law demonstrates our commitment to protecting the interests of our legitimate subscribers'."
