The prosecutor appealed dismissal of a charge of receiving a broadcast television programme with intent to avoid payment. The defendant ran a public house. She acquired a card which allowed her to receive transmissions from a Greek satellite broadcasting premier league football matches. The intellectual property rights to such matches in the UK lay with BSkyB alone. BSkyB had captured the visual images and sounds and transmitted them with commentaries. These were then sold on to the Greek company.
Held: The appeal was dismissed. The requisite intent to avoid any charge applicable was satisfied in the circumstances. It was wrong to attempt to determine whether a programme included in a broadcasting service is provided from a place in the United Kingdom by reference to Directive 93/83.
Judges:
Pumfrey LJ, Stanley Burnton J
Citations:
[2007] EWHC 3091 (Admin), [2008] Bus LR 1454, [2008] ECDR 9, [2008] ACD 30, (2008) 31(3) IPD 31018, [2008] FSR 15, [2008] 1 WLR 1869
Links:
Statutes:
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 297(1), Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/2498), Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 1996 (SI 1996/2967, Council Directive 93/83/EEC of 27th September 1993 on the co-ordination of certain rules concerning copyright and rights related to copyright applicable to satellite broadcasting and cable re-transmission, Council Directive 89/552/EEC of 3rd October 1989 on the co-ordination of certain provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in Member States concerning the pursuit of television broadcasting activities
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA ECJ 13-Nov-1990
Sympathetic construction of national legislation
LMA OVIEDO sought a declaration that the contracts setting up Commercial International were void (a nullity) since they had been drawn up in order to defraud creditors. Commercial International relied on an EC . .
Cited – Entidad de Gestion de Derechos de los Productores Audiovisuales (Egeda) v Hosteleria Asturiana SA (Hoasa). ECJ 3-Feb-2000
Europa The question whether the reception by a hotel establishment of satellite or terrestrial television signals and their distribution by cable to the various rooms of that hotel is an act of communication to . .
Cited – Lagardere Active Broadcast ECJ 14-Jul-2005
Europa Copyright and neighbouring rights – Broadcasting of phonograms – Equitable remuneration. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime, Intellectual Property, Media, European
Updated: 30 November 2022; Ref: scu.263492