Scottish licensees fined £30k for Sky Sports piracy
O’Kane’s in Glasgow, Fox’s Bar in Edinburgh and Cheers in Cambuslang, south-east of Glasgow were hit with the fines in the Court of Session, Edinburgh along with costs.
The pubs and their licensees infringed Sky’s copyright by showing Sky Sports programming illegally in their premises.
Jagtar Singh Nijar and James Barnes Bar of O’Kane’s were ordered to pay £10,000 in damages, as were Linelly Ltd and Linda Davidson of Fox’s Bar, and Claire Gorman of Cheers.
They were also told to fund notices in local newspapers and trade papers including The Morning Advertiser.
Commitment to protect legitimate subscribers
Sky said it took the action as part of its commitment to protect pubs who invest in legitimate Sky Sports subscriptions.
Sky’s head of commercial piracy George Lawson said: “These rulings demonstrate the seriousness of this issue and through the orders to fund advertising we hope to highlight the consequences of televising Sky’s content illegally.
“We are committed to visiting thousands of pubs every season to monitor the games they are showing, as well as investigating suppliers to protect Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity.”
Sky Sports broadcasts football, including the Premier League, Sky Bet EFL, SPFL, and UEFA Nations League. In addition to football, it shows golf’s majors, European and Top 14 rugby, international and domestic cricket, and NFL from the US.
