The ruling
by the ECJ could have major implications for how the Premier League sell their
broadcast rights both in Britain and Europe.
The ECJ said
in a statement: "A system of licences for the broadcasting of football
matches which grants broadcasters territorial exclusivity on a member state basis
and which prohibits television viewers from watching the broadcasts with a
decoder card in other member states is contrary to EU law."
The case
came to the ECJ after Portsmouth publican Karen Murphy appealed after losing a
court action brought against her by the Premier League for using the Greek
satellite decoder.
The case in
the ECJ also involves the suppliers of such decoder cards to those pubs.
In its
judgment delivered today, the ECJ ruled: "National legislation which
prohibits the import, sale or use of foreign decoder cards is contrary to the
freedom to provide services and cannot be justified either in light of the
objective of protecting intellectual property rights or by the objective of
encouraging the public to attend football stadiums."
The
implications of the ruling could not just affect the Premier League but every sport
that sells broadcast rights on a country-by-country basis. It is also how Uefa,
for example, sell the rights for the Champions League. It could also affect the
sale of TV programmes generally across Europe.
The ECJ also
ruled that only the opening video sequence, the Premier League anthem, and
pre-recorded clips showing highlights of recent Premier League matches and
various graphics could be protected by copyright.
"By
contrast, the matches themselves are not works enjoying such protection,"
says the ruling.
Pubs would
have to obtain permission to broadcast those opening sequences, said the
ruling, but not the match itself.
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