Following successful legal action taken by Sky, two licensees in Glasgow, the Old Govan Arms and the Stables Bar, have each been ordered to pay £10,000 in damages for infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky Sports programming illegally in their premises.
Sky has been awarded permanent interdicts (injunctions) which prevent the licensees and anyone acting on their behalf from infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky programming without the correct commercial licence. As well as paying the damages, the licensees must also pay Sky’s costs and fund the publication of notices advertising the orders in local press.
These cases form a key part of Sky’s commitment to protecting pubs who invest in legitimate Sky Sports subscriptions.
Sky have said that they are “committed to visiting every licensed premises reported by other licensees and organisations for illegally showing Sky and have arranged to visit hundreds of pubs each week in towns and cities across the UK this season.”
Commercial Compliance Lead at Sky, Sara Stewart, added, “Now more than ever it’s important to protect the investment of our customers. Businesses that show Sky Sports illegally can leave our legitimate Sky subscribers feeling short-changed.”
“We actively visit thousands of pubs every season to monitor the games they are showing to help protect hardworking Sky customers who are unfairly losing business due to this illegal activity.”
“Venues who continue to televise content in this way are breaking the law, and are at risk of being caught, which can result in licensees being ordered to pay significant damages and legal costs to Sky, and/or losing their personal licence.”
Any licensee affected by these issues can report suspected illegal broadcasting confidentially at www.pubpiracy.com