Swansea licensee granted appeal over Premier League copyright case

In January last year Anthony Luxton of the Rhyddings Hotel in Swansea was ordered to pay the damages, together with legal costs. The court also awarded an injunction against the premises barring further unlawful screenings.

However last week the Court of Appeal in London granted Luxton permission to appeal. The case will now proceed to a full appeal hearing at a later date, most likely in the autumn of 2015.

At the hearing of his appeal, Luxton will, according to his solicitor, argue that “the Premier League cannot use its copyright to prevent EU cross border trade in broadcasting services simply to bolster a UK monopoly in favour of Sky and BT”.

The Premier League has been ramping up its enforcement activity against pubs and bars across England and Wales that are broadcasting matches without a legitimate commercial agreement. An enforcement campaign against suppliers of unauthorised systems is also underway.