The claimants relayed horse racing events to bookmakers. The respondents collected data about the races and horses. The claimants sought the freedom to use that data, and the defendants asserted a database right to control such use.
Held: BHB controlled the market, and by threatening to terminate the licence of the claimant had abused that dominant position. The prices demanded by the defendant were excessive and unfair, being greater than to broadcasters. Plans to use money from the commercial exploitation of the data to improve British Racing could not justify such abuse.
Judges:
Etherton J
Citations:
[2005] EWHC 3015 (Ch)
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Attheraces Ltd and Another v The British Horseracing Board Ltd and Another ChD 15-Jul-2005
. .
Cited – The British Horseracing Board Ltd and Others v William Hill Organization Ltd ECJ 9-Nov-2004
bhb_whECJ2004
The claimant sought to prevent re-use by the defendant of information from its horse racing subscription service. They claimed that they had a database right in the information. It cost andpound;4m per year to assemble.
Held: The expression . .
Cited – British Horseracing Board Ltd and Another v William Hill Organization Ltd CA 13-Jul-2005
The Court allowed William Hill’s appeal, holding that BHB had not established that the ECJ had given its earlier ruling on the basis of an erroneous assumption of fact and that the result of applying the ruling was that BHB’s Database did not fall . .
Cited – Racing UK Ltd v Doncaster Racecourse Ltd and Another CA 20-Jul-2005
. .
Cited – Racecourse Association and others v Office of Fair Trading CAT 2-Aug-2005
. .
Cited – In re H and R (Minors) (Child Sexual Abuse: Standard of Proof) HL 14-Dec-1995
Evidence allowed – Care Application after Abuse
Children had made allegations of serious sexual abuse against their step-father. He was acquitted at trial, but the local authority went ahead with care proceedings. The parents appealed against a finding that a likely risk to the children had still . .
Cited – Aberdeen Journals Limited v Office of Fair Trading (No 2) CAT 2002
Sir Christopher Bellamy said: ‘. . the question whether a certain pricing practice by a dominant undertaking is to be regarded as abusive for the purposes of Chapter II is a matter to be looked at in the round, taking particularly into account (i) . .
Cited – Napp Pharmaceutical Holdings Limited and Subsidiaries v Director General of Fair Trading CAT 16-Jan-2002
. .
Cited – Aeroports de Paris v Commission ECFI 12-Dec-2000
ECJ Competition – Air transport – Airport management – Applicable regulation – Regulation No 17 and Regulation (EEC) No 3975/87 – Abuse of dominant position – Discriminatory fees.
The burden on Aeroports de . .
Cited – United Brands Company and United Brands Continentaal BV v Commission of the European Communities ECJ 14-Feb-1978
Europa The opportunities for competition under article 86 of the treaty must be considered having regard to the particular features of the product in question and with reference to a clearly defined geographic . .
Cited – Hoffmann-La Roche v Commission ECJ 13-Feb-1979
ECJ Observance of the right to be heard is required in all proceedings in which sanctions, in particular fines or penalty payments, may be imposed as a fundamental principle of community law. It must be respected . .
Cited – Irish Sugar v Commission T-228/97 ECFI 7-Oct-1999
Article 86 of the EC Treaty (now Article 82 EC) – Dominant position and joint dominant position – Abuse – Fine. . .
Cited – General Motors NV v Commission ECJ 13-Nov-1975
Europa When combined with the freedom of the manufacturer or its authorized agent appointed by the public authority to fix the price for its service, the delegation by a member state to such person in the form of . .
Cited – Portugal v Commission (Judgment) ECJ 29-Mar-2001
. .
Cited – Scandlines Svergie AB v Port of Helsingborg Case 2000
(Year?) The Commission dismissed a complaint by a ferry company of excessive and discriminatory port charges by the port operator. The Commission said that, in calculating the production costs, it was necessary to take account not only of the costs . .
Cited – The Football Association Premier League Limited, The Football Association Limited, The Football League Limited (And Their Respective Member Clubs) v British Sky Broadcasting Limited, British Broadcasting Limited RPC 28-Jul-1999
Agreements had been made controlling the broadcasting of football matches. The director general sought to challenge them as restrictive practices, since the individual clubs had signed away their right themselves to arrange for the broadcasting of . .
Cited – Tierce Ladbroke SA v Commission ECFI 1997
‘According to settled case-law, for the purposes of applying Article [82] of the Treaty, the relevant product or service market includes products or services which are substitutable or sufficiently interchangeable with the product or service in . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – Attheraces Ltd and Another v The British Horseracing Board Ltd and Another CA 2-Feb-2007
The defendant appealed a finding that it had abused its dominant market position in refusing to supply to the claimant a copyright licence for its information on horse racing at a proper or acceptable price. The defendant was said to have a monopoly . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Intellectual Property, European
Updated: 25 September 2022; Ref: scu.236616
