£10k fine for Sky Sports piracy
June 12, 2023
By Colin Mann
Following successful legal action taken by Sky, a licensee in Dundee, Scotland, has been ordered to pay £10,000 (€11,700) in damages for infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky Sports programming illegally in their premises.
Sky sought, and was awarded, a permanent interdict in the Court of Session, Edinburgh, which prevents the licensee, and anyone acting on their behalf, from infringing Sky’s copyright by showing Sky programming without the correct commercial licence. The licensee has been ordered to pay damages in the sum of £10,000, plus interest and must also pay Sky’s costs.
The premises and licensee are: Snug Bar 75, Church Street, Dundee, Angus DD3 7HP – Brian Scrimgeour (DPM).
This successful case comes from Sky’s instruction of intellectual property expert Burness Paull LLP and forms a key part of Sky’s commitment to protecting pubs who invest in legitimate Sky Sports subscriptions. Sky is committed to visiting every licensed premises reported by other publicans and/or organisations for illegally showing Sky and have arranged to visit hundreds of pubs each week in towns and cities across the UK.
“Now more than ever it’s important to protect the investment of our customers,” asserted Sara Stewart, Head of Compliance at Sky Business. “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,” she warned.